(         '\     'X- 


iffrnm  Xi\t  ffitbrartf  txf 

Mtt\mvA\\th  bg  \\m  to 

\\\t  Ktbrarg  of 

PnnrrtDtt  Sh^nlngtral  ^trnXxxwc^ 

BV  4935  .J63  W44  1888 
Wells,  John  D.  1815-1903. 
ill  Saved  by  grace,  or.  The  las 
;^^mt;m      week  in  the  life  of  Davis  k^ 


t "  f  .  I 


♦         .     .    p 


-2ig?lijrAB..Kli3ne 


SAVED  BY  GRACE; 

OR, 

THE  LA^ST  "V\^EEK 

IN  THE  LIFE 

OF 

DAVIS  JOHNSON,  JR. 


JOHN  D.  WELLS,  D.  D., 

Senior  Pastor  of  the  South  Third  Street  Presbyterian 
Church,  Brooklyn,  E.  D.,  N.  Y, 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION 
AND  SABBATH-SCHOOL   WORK, 

No.   1334  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


COPYRIGHT,   1888,   BY 

THE  TRUSTEES  OF  THE 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD   OF  PUBLICATION 
AND  SABBATH-SCHOOL   WORK. 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


PREFACE. 


The  author  of  this  little  book  was  in  London 
in  the  fall  of  1858.  Addressing  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  of  that  city,  he  gave  an 
account  in  brief  of  the  last  week  in  the  life  of 
Davis  Johnson,  Jr.  An  American  clergyman 
of  eminence  was  on  the  platform,  and  closed  the 
service  with  prayer.  Deeply  affected  by  the  nar- 
rative, he  strongly  urged  its  publication.  It  was 
issued  by  Robert  Carter  &  Brothers  of  New 
York  late  in  the  year  1860,  though  bearing 
date  1861,  and  went  through  several  editions. 
About  the  same  time  it  was  republished  in  Ed- 
inburgh and  London. 


4  PREFACE. 

The  plates  are  now  transferred  to  the  Board 

of  Publication   and  Sabbath-School  Work,  with 

the  approval  of  the  Messrs.  Carter,  in  the  hope, 

and  with  the  prayer,  that  God  may  continue  to 

bless  the  narrative  to  the  glory  of  his  grace  in 

the  salvation  of  souls. 

The  Author. 

Parsonage,  Brooklyn,  E.  D.,  N.  Y., 
January,  1888. 


CONTENTS. 


OHAPTEB.  PAGB. 

I. — Introductory, 7 

II. — The   Bath-House, 11 

III. — The   Day   of   Preparation, 21 

IV. — ^The  Awakening, 29 

V. — Conviction   Prolonged, 45 

VI. — ^A  Fatal  Delusion. — The  Crisis, 67 

VII. — Salvation, 81 

VIII. — Patient   in   Tribulation, 95 

IX. — Submission, 103 

X. — Dark   Hours, 123 

XI. — The   Furnace  of  Affliction, 137 

XII. — Faithful  unto   Death, 153 

XIII. — Sown  in  Corruption, 165 

XIV . — The  Voice   of  Warning, 175 

XV. — Childhood, 193 


CHAPTER    I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

**i5E    TE    THEREFORE     READY    ALSO:     FOR    THE    SoN    OF    MaS 
COMETH    AT    AN    HOUR    WHEN    TE    THINK    NOT."  JESUS. 


§,  gont^  of  noble  form  aub  feature, 

g^  being  sent  to  bless  i\}is  foorlb,  anb  probe 

€o  scoffers,  tijat  tl^ere  is  a  #ob  foljo  rules 

§.bobe;  for  foljo  but  #Db  cotilb  toork  lljus  noblg?" 


I. 


On  Saturday,  the  18th  of  July,  1857, 
Davis  Johnson,  Jr.,  received  a  mortal  hurt 
while  bathing  in  the  East  River,  Williams- 
burgh,  Long  Island. 

At  the  post-mortem  examination,  it  was 
found,  that  the  sixth  cervical  vertebra  was 
broken  into  six  pieces,  and  thrown  out  of 
place.  There  was  consequently  a  compres- 
sion of  the  spinal  cord,  and  an  entire  paral- 
ysis of  the  nerves  of  motion  and  sensation, 
below  the  chest. 

In  this  condition  of  body,  and  in  the  full 
possession  of  all  his  mental  powers,  he  lived 
a  whole  week,  exj)iring  on  Saturday,  the 
25th  of  July,  just  before  night.  He  was 
not  quite  twenty  years  old. 


10  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

The  following  pages  are  a  simple  record, 
chiefly  from  notes  taken  at  the  time,  of 
his  experience,  the  efforts  made  for  his  sal- 
vation, and  the  result,  which,  through  the 
tender  mercy  of  God,  it  is  believed  was 
secured,  during  that  last  week  of  his  life. 

And  this  record  is  now  published,  with 
the  humble  hope  and  prayer,  that  God  may 
bless  it  to  young  men,  and  others  into 
whose  hands  it  shall  fall. 


SHAPTER    II. 

SATURDAY-JULY  18. 

**^5E    NOT    TWO     SPAEROWS     SOLD     FOE     A    FAETHINQ  ?     AND 
MfE     OF     THEM     SHALL     NOT     FALL     ON    THE     GEOUND    WITHOUl 

r«DE  Fathee."  JESUS. 


Irohen  in  ptrces  all  asunW, 
ITorb!   Ijnnl  me  not, 
g^  lining  forgot; 
km  »  poor  crtaturf,  nob?  a  foonber, — 
^  feonber,  tortureb  hi  f^c  space 
$etfowt  tijis  foorib  aub  lljat  of  grate.** 


IL 

Davis  left  the  office  of  the  "Atlantic  Mu- 
tual Insurance  Company,"  in  Wall  Street, 
New  York,  where  he  held  a  responsible 
position,  a  little  earlier  than  usual,  to  enjoy 
the  luxury  of  a  bath.  His  parents,  and  a 
younger  brother,  boarded  in  William sburgh, 
L.  I.,  while  his  boarding-house  was  in 
Brooklyn.  For  a  reason  which  will  be 
stated  in  the  sequel,  he  was  anxious  to 
take  his  brother  with  him  to  a  sanctuary 
in  Brooklyn,  where  he  had  attended  the 
Sabbath  before.  This  reason  revealed,  I 
think,  the  beginning  of  a  gracious  work  in 
his  soul,  before  the  awful  week,  during 
which  it  was  destined  to  be  developed  and 

2 


14  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

matured  for  eternity.  His  plan,  as  stated 
by  himself,  was  this : — to  come  over  to 
Williamsburgh,  enjoy  the  bath  with  his 
brother,  and  then  take  him  to  Brooklyn. 

But  God's  plan  was  different. 

The  brothers  entered  the  bath-house, 
then  lying  at  the  foot  of  South  Eighth  Street, 
Williamsburgh,  and,  in  company  with  sev- 
eral other  young  men,  indulged  in  the 
manly  sport  of  swimming  and  diving. 
There  was  one  part  of  the  house,  to  which, 
on  account  of  its  elevation,  bathers  were 
sometimes  tempted  to  climb,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  diving ;  but  they  were  excl*uded 
from  it,  by  printed  regulations,  because  of 
the  possible  exposure  of  their  persons. 

To  this  place,  Davis  climbed ;  and  when 
told  by  the  attendant  that  he  was  doing 
wrong,  he  instantly  plunged  into  the  water, 
and  this  was  his  fatal  plunge.  He  soon 
rose   to   the   surface;    but   his    head,   and 


THE     BATH-HOUSE.  15 

hands,  and  feel  hung  heavily  down.  At 
first,  his  brother,  who  was  not  in  the  bath 
at  the  moment,  thought  he  was  sporting,  as 
he  was  perfectly  at  home  in  the  water. 
Perceiving  however,  that  he  was  hurt,  he 
hastened  to  his  assistance.  On  raising  his 
face  from  the  water,  he  was  told  that  he 
miist  carry  him  out,  for  he  could  not  help 
himself. 

It  is  cause  for  wonder  and  gratitude,  to 
this  day,  that  the  younger  brother  should 
have  been  able  to  carry  Davis  on  his  shoul- 
der, through  the  water  and  up  the  steps  of 
the  bath-house,  to  the  platform;  and  still 
more,  that  he  should  have  done  it  without 
destroying  the  precious  life  which  had  re- 
ceived so  fearful  a  blow.  It  was  clear 
afterwards,  that  the  slightest  change  in  the 
relative  position  of  the  head  and  body,  must 
have  been  attended  with  the  risk  of  instant 
death.     And  it  is  a  gpeater  wonder  than 


16  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

even  this,  that  the  younger  brother  and  his 
associates,  without  knowing  the  extent  of 
Davis's  injuries,  should  have  safely  removed 
him,  as  he  was,  to  a  carriage,  and  so  con- 
veyed him  to  the  boarding-house  of  his 
parents  in  Washington  Place,  a  distance  of 
several  blocks,  and  then  up  the  stone  steps 
in  front,  and  the  long  flight  of  stairs  leading 
to  the  second  floor  of  the  house.  There 
was  no  skillful  surgeon  to  give  directions 
and  help,  in  this  most  delicate  task;  but 
surely  the  angels  of  God  had  him  in 
charge,  or  he  must  have  been  killed. 

It  was  a  very  merciful  arrangement  for 
the  mother,  that  she  was  absent  from  the 
house,  when  her  wounded  boy  was  brought 
home  to  die.  And  on  her  return,  shortly 
after,  she  was  prepared  for  the  tidings 
awaiting  her,  by  the  younger  son,  who  con- 
siderately and  tenderly  met  her  at  the  door, 
and  told  her  not  to  be  alarmed,  that  Davis 


THE     BATH-HOUSE.  17 

was  hurt,  but  they  hoped  not  seriously. 
And  this  was  the  impression  of  Davis  him- 
self. He  was  not  overcome,  therefore, 
when  his  mother,  to  whom  he  was  bound 
by  a  filial  love  that  I  have  never  seen  sur- 
passed, came  to  his  bed-side.  His  fine  face 
was  not  marred,  and  there  was  no  bruise 
on  any  part  of  his  body.  He  said  himself 
that  he  did  not  strike  his  head  on  the 
bottom  of  the  bath ;  and  this  was  manifestly 
the  case,  because  there  was  not  the  slight- 
est abrasion  of  the  skin  perceptible,  and 
there  was  no  pain.  An  intelligent  physi- 
cian expressed  the  opinion,  that  his  fore- 
head struck  the  w*ater  a  little  at  one  side, 
and  when  his  head  and  body  were  not  in  a 
right  line  with  each  other.  The  conse- 
quence was,  that  his  head  was  thrown  vio- 
lently back,  and  also  to  one  side ;  and  the 
cartilage  uniting  the  bones  not  giving  way, 
the  sixth  vertebra  of  the  neck  was  literally 

2* 


18  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

pulled  asunder  and  broken  into  six  pieces. 
It  was  also  twisted  around,  so  that  the 
spinous  process  was  quite  out  of  line  with 
the  spinous  processes  of  the  other  vertebrse 
of  the  spinal  column. 

The  pain  that  Davis  felt  was  not  great  at 
first,  and  it  was  confined  to  one  little  spot 
in  the  neck.  He  could  talk,  and  move  his 
arms  at  will.  His  respiration  was  easy, 
and  his  heart  beat  with  its  usual  force  and 
regularity.  And  yet  his  body,  below  a  line 
crossing  the  chest  near  the  nipples,  was 
dead;  the  process  of  digestion  was  per- 
manently interrupted,  and  all  sensation  and 
power  of  motion  were  gone  forever. 

In  this  condition  of  body,  and  with  no 
serious  thoughts  about  his  soul,  he  entered 
upon  his  last  earthly  Sabbath. 

It  is  proper  to  add  here,  that  to  the  last, 
Davis  persisted  in  taking  upon  himself,  all 
the  blame  of  his  fatal  injury.     More  than 


THE     BATH-HOUSE.  19 

once  he  exclaimed  in  my  hearing :  ^^  I 
brought  it  all  on  myself."  And  this  is  now 
recorded,  as  a  frank  acknowle-dgment,  alike 
honorable  to  him  and  due  to  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  bath-house.  He  felt  and  said, 
that  if  he  had  obeyed  the  known  laws  of 
the  place,  he  could  not  have  been  hurt. 


CHAPTER    III. 


SABBATH— JULY  19. 


iftje  §u^  0l  lriepBrBti0ji* 


"As    MANY     A3     I    LOVE,    I    REBDKE    AND     CHASTEN." 

JESUS. 


"JT^ab,  ^abiour,  kab,  amib  llje  endrtling  gloom, 

ITfab  t'^oit  me  on: 
f  ^c  nigljt  is  bark,  anb  |  am  far  from  ^omc, 

ITeab  lljou  me  on. 
^eep  tl)ou  mg  feel;   |  bo  not  ask  to  see 
S^^e  bistanl  scene — one  step,  enonglj  for  mt." 


MI. 

Tais  was  a  day  of  solemn  preparation  for 
the  scenes  that  followed. 

It  is  one  of  the  precious  truths  of  the 
Scriptures,  that,  "  Like  as  a  father  pitieth 
his  children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that 
fear  him." — Ps.  ciii.,  13.  We  ought  not  to 
explain  these  words  away.  It  is  our  duty, 
and  privilege,  to  rise  from  our  parental 
pity,  of  which  we  are  so  keenly  sensible,  to 
that  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  of  which  we 
have  need  to  assure  ourselves. 

The  par-ents  of  Davis  were  not  forgotten 
of  God.  They  spent  the  day  in  ministering 
to  his  wants,  and  in  yielding  their  hearts, 
hour  after  hour,  more  fully  to  the  distres,s- 


24  THELASTWEEK. 

ing  conviction  that  he  must  die.  He  re- 
tained his  consciousness  throughout  the 
day,  while  lying  perfectly  helpless.  In- 
deed, his  mind  seemed  to  be  active  and 
clear,  until  he  was  struck  with  death. 

You  could  puncture  his  cold  flesh  with  a 
pin,  at  any  point  below  the  line  of  sensibil- 
ity, across  his  chest,  without  his  know- 
ledge ;  but  the  instant  you  crossed  that 
invisible,  mysterious  line,  he  would  cry  out 
with  pain.  His  arms  and  fingers  obeyed 
the  dictates  of  his  will,  and  retained  their 
sensibility,  though  not  wholly  unimpaired, 
lor  «nt  times  they  tingled  as  if  "asleep ;"  and 
agam  they  were  acutely  sensitive,  so  that 
he  could  not  bear  i  »  hive  them  touched. 
This  morbid  sensibility  was  particularly 
distressing  in  the  wrists,  and  palms  of  the 
hands.  His  head  was,  of  course,  immov- 
able, because  of  the  fracture  of  the  neck ; 


THE    DAY    OF    PREPARATION.      25 

but,  his  vocal  powers,  and  the  muscles  of 
his  face,  were  as  true  to  his  volitions  as 
ever.  He  could,  therefore,  talk  freely  with 
physicians  and  friends,  about  his  changing 
sensations,  and  the  thoughts  and  emotions 
of  his  soul. 

Recourse  was  had,  during  the  day,  to 
various  means,  and  among  them,  electricity, 
with  the  hope  of  restoring  the  lost  powers 
of  sensation  and  motion,  to  his  body  and 
legs,  but  without  effect. 

His  removal,  from  the  bed  to  a  cot,  cost 
him  indescribable  suffering,  and  confirmed 
the  judgment  of  the  physicians,  that  his 
injury  must  soon  prove  fatal ;  and  they 
thought  it  clearly  their  duty,  to  reveal 
theii  fears,  and  the  ground  of  them,  to  the 
distressed  parents.  This  they  did ;  but  it 
is  easy  to  understand  how,  against  hope, 
they  still  clung  to  hope;   for,  to  the  eye, 


26  THE     LAST    WEEK. 

there  was  no  wound  upon  the  person  of  the 
sufferer.  He  looked  the  very  picture  of 
health.  I  had  not  seen  him,  indeed,  up  to 
this  point;  but  the  same  healthful  appear- 
ance of  his  face  and  body  continued,  till  the 
powers  of  life  were  exhausted.  It  was 
only  at  intervals,  and  when  he  was  greatly 
prostrated,  that  we  could  persuade  our- 
selves of  the  approach  of  death. 

Had  he  been  a  youth  of  feeble  constitu- 
tion, he  must  have  sunk  much  sooner ;  but 
he  had  the  idgour  and  muscular  develop- 
ment, of  a  man  several  years  his  senior. 
This  proved  an  unspeakable  mercy  to  him, 
in  the  end,  though  it  prolonged  and  gi'eatly 
aggravated  his  sufferings.  As  a  lost  sin- 
ner, on  the  borders  of  eternity,  he  needed 
all  his  strength,  physical  and  mental ;  and 
that  this  was  continued,  until,  through 
grace,  he  was  enabled  to  lay  hold  on  eter- 


THE    DAY    OF    PREPARATION.      27 

nal  life,  was  the  occasion,  at  last,  of  many 
thanksgivings  unto  God. 

But  he  had  no  serious  apprehensions  of 
danger,  and  no  thought  of  pleading  for 
mercy,  up  to  the  close  of  the  Sabbath. 


CHAPTER    IV, 


MONDAY— JULY  20. 


BljeBlifl^ 


"And  when   He  is   oome,  He  will  reprove  the  world 
of   sin,   and   of   righteousness,   and    of   judgment." 

JESUS. 


"^\t  spirit,  like  some  Ijeakulg  buxb, 
§Iob)S  oit  tlje  sons  of  flcslj; 
^cb  mobds  all  tljc  carnal  minb, 
ginb  forms  l^e  mai*  »fri4»" 


TV. 

This  was  the  first  day,  marked  by  deep 
spiritual  concern  on  the  part  of  Davis,  and 
by  the  earnest  efforts  of  Christian  friends, 
for  his  salvation. 

As  he  awoke  about  3  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  his  mother,  watching  beside  him, 
said : 

"  You  are  very  ill,  my  son !" 

"  Not  very,"  he  answered  cheerfully. 

"But  you  are  very  ill,  Davis.  Don't 
you  feel  that  you  are  ?" 

"  No !  I  am  not  much  hurt ;  I  shall  be 
out  in  a  few  days." 

If  his  mother  had  cared  only  for  his 
present  comfort,  she  would  have  left  him 


32  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

under  the  illusion  that  his  injury  was  slight. 
This,  alas !  is  the  frequent  treatment  of  the 
sick ;  they  are  robbed  of  the  golden  hours 
that  remain  to  them  of  life,  lest  the  use  of 
those  hours  in  preparing  for  death,  should 
hurry  their  passage  to  the  grave. 

Mrs.  Johnson  had  reason  to  believe  that 
her  son  was  unreconciled  to  God;  she 
thought  of  his  soul,  and  of  the  infinite 
value  of  even  moments  of  time,  to  one  in 
his  circumstances ;  and  again,  with  a  bleed- 
ing heart,  she  pressed  upon  him  the  fact  of 
his  extreme  danger. 

"You  will  not  be  well  in  a  few  days, 
and  you  may  never  recover." 

He  asked  with  kindling  emotion,  "Why 
do  you  say  so,  mother  ?" 

'•  Because  it  is  the  opinion  of  your  phy- 
sicians." 

This  was  a  moment  of  bitter  anguish  to 
both  mother  and  child  ;  and  it  was  followed 


THE     AWAKENING.  33 

by   many  hours   of   greater   anguish ;    but 
how  salutary  and  necessary  ! 

His  next  words  were  these,  "I  can't  die." 
With  a  fearful  emphasis  breathed  into  the 
ntterance,  he  exclaimed  more  than  once,  "  / 
can't  die  !"  "  I  carit  die  !" 

"  Can't  you  pray,  my  son  ?" 

"  Pray !"  said  he ;  "  God  knows  I  wouldn't 
have  been  praying,  if  I  hadn't  been  hurt. 
I  can't  pray.  Do  pray  for  me.  Now  pray 
for  me." 

His  mother  knelt  by  his  cot,  and  besought 
the  Lord  to  have  mercy  on  her  dying  son ; 
she  also  begged  him  to  join  her  in  praying 
for  himself,  which  he  tried  to  do. 

After  this,  the  agitation  of  his  mind  was 
somewhat  calmed,  and  when  he  was  asked 
if  he  would  like  to  see  me,  he  answered 
quickly :  "  Oh  yes  !  do  send  for  him  as 
soon  as  you  can  in  the  morning." 

Thus  far  in  the  narrative  I  have  relied 


34  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

upon  the  vivid  recollections  of  Mrs.  John- 
son, for  what  has  been  said  of  the  state  of 
Davis's  mind. 

Beyond  this  point,  my  dependence  is  al- 
most exclusively  upon  notes  taken  by  my- 
self, after  each  interview. 

And  I  may  as  well  say  here,  and  once 
for  all,  that  having  come  to  the  conclusion, 
after  much  reflection,  that  I  ought  to  publish 
this  account  of  Mr.  Johnson's  awakening 
and  conversion  to  God,  as  I  believe  it  was, 
I  shall  not  spoil  the  narrative  by  constant 
apologies  for  speaking  so  much  in  the  first 
person.  I  am  obliged  to  speak  in  this  way, 
or  not  at  all.  It  is  a  very  humble  agency 
any  one  has,  in  winning  a  soul  to  Christ. 
The  new  creation  of  the  sinner,  and  his 
eternal  union  to  the  person  of  the  Re- 
deemer, can  be  effected  only  by  the  Holy 
Spirit :  and  it  is  my  earnest  desire  to  bnog 
this  young  man  before  my  readers   as  in 


THE     AWAKENING.  35 

the  hands  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  passing 
from  stage  to  stage  of  his  short  and  painful 
course,  drawn  irresistibly  forward,  by  the 
attractions  revealed  to  him  in  the  cross  and 
the  Person  of  Christ.  Succeeding  in  this, 
I  shall  be  satisfied,  and  cherish  the  hope 
that  some  who  read  these  pages,  will  bless 
God  forever,  that  they  were  written. 

I  proceed  with  the  narrative. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  this  day,  I  was 
lequested  by  Mr.  Davis  Johnson,  who  with 
his  wife,  is  a  member  of  my  Church,  to  visit 
his  son.  I  had  heard  nothing  of  his  injury. 
As  we  walked  together  towards  his  board- 
ing-house, he  told  me  the  facts,  in  brief,  of 
the  distressing  accident ;  also  that  a  council 
of  physicians  had  expressed  the  opinion 
that  Davis  could  not  pos.sMy  recover,  and 
that  he  would  not  probably  live  more  than 
three  or  four  days.  A  few  words  were  add- 
ed about  the  painful  agitation  of  his  mind. 


36  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

I  need  not  say  that  the  responsibility  of 
becoming  his  spiritual  guide  in  these  dis- 
tressing circumstances,  weighed  heavily 
upon  me.  I  told  the  father  that  I  could  not 
think  of  assuming  it,  without  being  faithful 
to  his  son  from  the  first ;  that  I  must  tell 
him  of  his  sins  with  very  great  plainness, 
and  not  leave  him  in  ignorance  of  the  opin- 
ion expressed  by  the  physicians,  that  he 
must  soon  die. 

On  coming  to  his  cot,  therefore,  I  at 
once  threw  myself  on  the  judgment  of  his 
physicians,  and  begged  him  to  regard  him- 
self, as  near  the  eternal  world. 

He  was  silent  and  intensely  earnest,  in 
his  attention  to  what  I  said. 

I  then  asked  him  as  tenderly  as  possible, 
if  he  thought  himself  ready  to  stand  before 
God,  and  give  account  of  his  life?  His 
answer  was  a  loud  wail  that  pierced  my 
heart  like  a  knife.    He  cried  out  in  agony — 


THE     AWAKENING.  37 

lie  said  that  ho  could  not  die — he  had  broken 
God's  commandments,  and  must  go  to  hell. 

His  mind  sprang  to  this  conclusion  with 
awful  precision  and  swiftness,  and  his  lips 
uttered  it  without  the  slightest  hesitation. 

Moreover,  he  justified  God,  saying  then 
and  often  afterwards,  that  it  was  right  and 
necessary  that  he  should  perish,  for  he 
would  not  mind  God,  and  was  not  prepared 
to  be  happy  in  heaven. 

Distressing  as  it  was  to  witness  his  an- 
guish, I  was  constrained  to  believe  that  he 
was  even  then,  the  subject  of  a  true  awaken- 
ing by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that  He  who 
had  begun,  would  complete  His  own  gracious 
and  wonderful  work.  Pointing  him  to 
Christ  the  compassionate,  almighty,  and  ac- 
cessible Saviour,  to  whom  the  Holy  Spirit 
then  convincing  him  of  sin,  was  waiting  to 
lead    him,   and    praying  with    him,  I    left, 

promising  to  call  again  in  the  afterik^on. 

4 


38  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

As  it  is  my  purpose  to  make  known  tho 
means  used  for  securing  the  salvation  of 
this  young  man,  I  attach  great  importance 
to  the  following  statement.  Whatever  may 
be  thought  of  it  by  the  world,  I  am  per- 
suaded that  the  Christian  reader  will  under- 
stand and  appreciate  it. 

The  Church  of  which  I  am  pastor,  was 
enjoying  at  the  time  of  Davis's  injury,  the 
reviving  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The 
Sabbath  before  the  Monday  on  which  T 
first  visited  him,  was  one  of  unusual  so- 
lemnity and  interest,  in  our  sanctuary. 
We  were  occupied  all  day,  in  contemplating 
our  royal  priesthood  in  Christ,  and  with 
special  reference  to  the  duty,  and  power,  of 
intercession  for  others. 

Accordingly,  when  I  left  Davis,  I  went 
immediately  to  some  of  my  beloved  people, 
who  were  prevalent  in  prayer,  with  the 
earnest  request  that  they  would  take  his 


THE      AWAKENING.  39 

soul  upon  their  souls,  and  plead  for  him. 
And  as  I  met  others  through  the  day,  I 
suggested  that  the  Providence  of  our  Lord, 
was  conspiring  with  his  word  and  the  Holy 
Spirit,  to  teach  us  the  efficacy  of  inter- 
cessory prayer,  and  that  we  must  not  rest 
while  the  sufferer  lived.  From  that  time, 
till  he  slept  in  Jesus,  "  prayer  was  made, 
without  ceasing,  of  the  Church  unto  God 
for  him,"  and  it  was  not  made  in  vain. 

Calling  in  the  afternoon,  according  to 
promise,  I  found  that  Dr.  Mott,  of  New 
York,  was  with  him,  trying  to  reduce  the 
dislocation  of  the  neck.  This,  of  course, 
precluded  my  seeing  him,  and  led  me  to 
adopt  the  plan  of  writing  letters,  to  be  read 
in  my  absence,  and  as  his  oCrength  would 
permit.  I  felt  that  he  needed  instruction 
out  of  the  Scriptures,  and  that  just  as  fast 
and  long  as  he  could  receive  the  truth,  it 
should  be  freely  communicated  to  him,  fUB 


40  THE      LAST      WEEK. 

the  instrument,  in  the  hands  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  not  only  of  his  regeneration  and 
union  to  Christ,  but  also  of  his  sanctifi- 
cation  and  comfort.  And  I  believe  now  that 
these  letters  were  a  blessing  to  him. 

My  first  letter  was  accompanied  by  the 
following  note  to  his  parents,  which  is  pub- 
lished, with  their  consent,  because  it  ex- 
presses clearly  the  conviction  of  my  mind, 
that  Christian  paren+s  should  cooperate 
fully  with  ministers  in  giving  their  dying 
children  plain  instruction  from  the  Bible, 
though  it  may  pain  them  to  do  so. 

''July  20,  ]857. 

"•  My  dear  Mr.  akd  Mrs.  Johnson  : 

'^  My  heart  bleeds  for  you,  and  poars 
out  prayer  in  your  behalf.  May  God  sup- 
port you,  and  make  you  faithful  to  your 
dear,  dying  son. 

"  I  need  not  pray  you  not  to  heal  slightly 
the  hurt  of  his  poor  soul.     You  would  not 


THE      AWAKENING.  41 

for  worlds  do  this,  and  I  would  not  for  the 
treasure  of  the  universe. 

"  I  have  written  a  letter  which  I  hope  you 
will  first  read  by  yourselves,  and  then  may 
you  have  strength  to  read  it  to  your  son. 
Do  not  keep  back  the  truth  of  God  from 
him.  He  will  bless  you  eternally  for  faith- 
ful instruction,  and  warning,  and  entreaty, 
and  for  fervent,  believing  prayer. 

"  Do  not  divert  his  mind  from  his  sins.  It 
is  the  Holy  Spirit,  I  trust,  who  quickens 
his  conscience.  He  must  see,  and  feel,  and 
deplore  his  sins.  Tell  him  this,  and  when 
his  soul  is  in  agony,  point  him  to  Christ, 
and  lead  him  to  Christ.  Take  his  soul 
upon  your  souls,  and  go  before  him  to  Je- 
sus, in  faith  and  prayer;  and  though  you 
bury  your  dear  boy,  you  shall  find  him  m 
the  resurrection. 

"Again  I  beseech  you  not  to  withhold 
from  him  the  truth  that  tells  him  of  his 


42  THE      LAST     WEEK. 

sins.  I  will  call  in  the  morning,  if  spared, 
and  will  continue  to  WTite  the  truths  that  I 
hope  and  pray  God  may  bless  to  your 
dying  son.     Affectionately,  your  pastor, 

''J.  D.  Wells." 

In  printing  this  note,  it  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  say,  that  the  parents  of  Davis  most 
earnestly  and  gratefully  seconded  all  that 
was  done  to  lead  him  to  Christ ;  while  they 
also  went  before  all  others,  in  personal  de- 
su*es  and  efforts  for  his  salvation. 

The  first  letter  to  him  was  as  follows : 

"Pabsonage,  July  20,  IBS'?. 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Johxson  : 

"  I  called  this  afternoon,  but  could  not 
see  you,  without  interrupting  those  who 
were  trying  to  relieve  your  wounded  body. 
"  May  I  take  this  way  of  addressing  you  ? 
Most  truly  can  I  say,  that  you  have  lain 
upon  my  heart,  from  the  time  that  I  first 


THE     AWAKENING.  43 

beard  of  your  injury.  Never  have  I  felt 
a  greater  and  more  painful  responsibility 
thrown  upon  me,  than  now.  You  would 
justly  despise  me  for  ever,  if  I  should  keep 
back  any  of  those  great  and  precious  truths, 
by  which,  through  God's  blessing,  you  may 
be  saved  from  eternal  death,  though  at  the 
last  hour  of  your  earthly  life.  I  think  I 
hear  you  say  to  parents,  minister,  and 
friends :  '  Do  not  trifle  with  me.  Tell  me 
the  truth,  and  tell  it  plainly,  while  God 
gives  me  strength  to  hear  it;  and  when  I 
cannot  speak  to  you  any  more,  still  speak 
to  me  the  words  of  eternal  life,  and  pray  for 
me.'  We  will  do  this,  my  dear  young  friend. 
"  Let  me  beg  you,  first  of  all,  to  believe 
that  your  injury  is  so  serious,  that  all  the 
ground  of  hope  you  can  have  of  living 
more  than  a  few  days,  is  as  nothing.  1 
write  this  with  deepest  grief;  but  you  do 
not  wish  to  be  deceived. 


44  THE     LAST     WEEK.' 

"I  pray  you  next  to  believe,  that  though 
your  sins  be  as  scarlet  and  crimson  in  the 
sight  of  the  Holy  God,  to  whom  your  spirit 
will  soon  return,  there  is  a  way  made  very 
plain  in  the  Bible,  in  which  you  may  even 
now  be  freely  pardoned  and  made  holy;  for 
without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord. 

^' And  now  do  not  refuse  to  believe  exact- 
ly what  God  says  of  your  sinfulness.  He 
knows  your  heart,  and  He  tells  you  what  is 
in  your  heart.  He  lays  it  bare.  The  Holy 
Spirit  comes  as  Jesus  said  He  would,  to 
^reprove  the  world  of  sin,  and  of  right- 
eousness, and  of  judgment.'  You  know, 
dear  sir,  that  you  have  broken  God's  law. 
It  is  holy,  just,  and  good.  But  you  have 
not  loved  it,  and  you  have  not  kept  it. 
'  The  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God ; 
for,  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God, 
neither  indeed  can  be.'  And  thus  you  are 
lost.     You  are   under   the   curse  of  God's 


THE      AWAKENING.  45 

law,  and  near  eternity-.  But,  oh,  my  dying 
and  lost  friend,  God  Himself  offers  to  save 
you.  He  tells  you  of  His  dear  Son.  He 
invites,  and  commands,  and  entreats  you  to 
look  and  come  to  Jesus. 

"  '  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world.  His  blood 
cleans eth  us  from  all  sin.  He  is  able  to 
save  to  the  uttermost  all  that  come  unto 
God  by  Him.  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved.  Repent 
and  believe  the  Gospel.' 

*•  ALtVectionately  yours. 


CHAPTER    V. 

TUESDAY— JULY  21. 

"For  I  WAS  alive  without  the  law  once:  but  when 

THE  COMMANDMENT   CAME,    SIN   REVIVED   AND   I   DIED." 

PATJL. 


"  ^oor,  lost,  bemcihteb  soul,  nt  than 
Millbig  to  finb  salbation  noio  r  — 
Sgtrt  get  is  wpt, — Ijear  mcrcg's  call, — 
^xui\,  life,  ligljt,  irrag,  in  Cljrist  is  all! 
paste  to  HIM,  l^astc  T* 


V. 


My  interview  with  Davis  this  morning 
was  very  affecting.  At  his  request,  his 
younger  brother,  and  he  alone,  remained  in 
the  room  with  us.  The  reason  for  this  he 
gave,  revealing  not  only  a  true  fraternal 
devotion,  but,  I  had  almost  said,  a  Christian 
love,  which  grew  stronger  and  stronger  to 
the  last.  He  expressed  the  hope  that  his 
brother  might  be  profited  by  the  conversa- 
tion. He  wished  him  to  hear  what  he  was 
about  to  say  with  eternity  in  view,  and  also 
what  I  might  say,  as  a  Christian  minister, 
in  the  name  of  Christ. 

Having  thus  arranged  everything  for  our 
interview,  he  proceeded,  without  the  least 


50  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

hesitation,  and  with  great  solemnity,  to  say 
to  me,  as  if  no  one  else  had  been  present, 
"I  know  that  I  must  die  very  soon,  and 
that  I  am  lost ;  I  am  not  fit  to  die ;  I  cannot 
go  to  heaven;  I  must  go  to  hell.  It  is 
right  that  I  should ;  I  deserve  to  perish ; 
I  would  not  mind  God ;  I  would  not  be 
good ;  I  knew  what  God  said  I  must  do, 
but  I  would  not  do  it ;  I  did  not  like  to." 

In  very  simple  words  like  these,  he  utter- 
ed again  and  again  his  own  condemnation ; 
while,  in  terms  as  clear  and  strong  as  could 
be  used,  he  justified  God.  This  was  a 
striking  and  hopeful  feature  of  his  ex- 
perience from  the  first ;  and  it  was  the 
more  impressive,  because,  not  being  accus- 
tomed to  express  himself  on  such  subjects, 
there  was  nothing  technical  or  set  in  his 
phrases.  I  could  not  resist  the  conviction, 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  leading  him  safely 
into  the  truth ;  though  it  was  most  distress- 


CONVICTION     PROLONGED.  51 

ing  to  witness  his  anguish,  and  to  hear  the 
words  in  which  he  poured  out  his  com- 
plaint ;  nor  was  it  possible  to  give  him 
relief.  God^s  time  had  not  yet  come  for 
revealing  the  Saviour  to  him.  Full  and 
free  salvation  was  offered  him  in  the  name 
of  Christ.  I  told  him  the  story  of  the  cross 
as  simply  and  tenderly  as  I  could ;  he  was 
reminded  of  the  personal  glory  of  the  liv- 
ing and  accessible  Redeemer,  of  His  offices, 
his  work,  and  His  death ;  the  very  words 
of  Jesus  and  His  inspired  servants,  were 
repeated  and  explained,  to  allure  and  help 
him;  and  then  fervent  intercession  was  made 
for  him.  But  the  sentence  of  his  righteous 
condemnation,  was  written  before  the  eye 
of  his  consciousness  too  plainly  to  be  over- 
looked ;  the  wrath  of  God  was  revealed 
from  heaven  against  him.  Though  young, 
he  was  made  to  feel  that  he  had  treasured 
up  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath.     I  know 


52  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

of  no  scriptural  terms  that  are  too  strong  to 
express  his  conviction  of  personal  guilt  and 
vileness,  and  helpless  exposure  to  punish- 
ment, as  a  sinner.  The  commandment,  seen 
as  he  had  never  seen  it  before,  to  be  holy, 
just,  and  good — though  very  imperfectly 
known  yet,  in  its  spirituality  and  breadth, 
as  the  experience  of  another  day  will  show — 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
slay  him.  He  was  killed,  and  I  could  not 
make  him  live  and  rejoice  before  God,  as 
a  renewed  and  pardoned  sinner. 

He  expressed  the  opinion,  without  re- 
serve, that  God  could  not  possibly  receive 
him  as  a  child,  and  pass  by  his  transgres- 
sions. He  must  undo  his  wrong,  and  lead  a 
different  life.  And  then,  remembering  that 
his  days  were  numbered,  he  exclaimed, 
*^  Oh,  if  I  could  live  eight  or  ten  years,  and 
show  God  that  I  would  be  good,  I  might  be 
saved,  but  now  I  must  die." 


CONVICTION    PROLONGED.  53 

"Davis,"  I  said,  "if  you  could  live  a 
thousand  years,  you  must  be  saved  by  com- 
ing to  Christ  as  you  are,  and  resting  upon 
Him.  All  that  you  can  do  is  utterly  worth- 
less to  commend  you  to  God.  You  must 
count  your  very  righteousnesses  as  filthy 
rags,  and,  casting  all  away,  accept  of  the 
perfect  righteousness  of  God's  dear  Son,  as 
a  free  gift  to  you  personally.  Do  not  yield 
to  the  dreadful  thought  that  you  must  per- 
ish, because  you  have  not  years  of  life  in 
prospect,  when  Jesus  says,  '  I  am  the  resur 
rection  and  the  life ;  he  that  believeth  in 
me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live : 
and  whosoever  liveth  and  beheveth  in  me 
shall  never  die.'  You  know  that  His  blood 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin." 

Still  he  did  not,  and  could  not  consciously 
come  to  Christ.  The  perfect  freeness  of 
salvation,  the  accessibility  of  Jesus,  the 
possibility  of  his  having  a  full  and  eternal 

5* 


*54  THELASTWEEK. 

pardon  on  account  of  the  Saviour's  sacrifi- 
cial death,  and  merely  for  the  taking,  were 
^eat  mysteries,  above  his  comprehension. 
His  eyes  were  holden  that  he  could  not  see. 
It  pleased  God  to  leave  him  a  little  longer 
under  the  guilt  of  his  sins,  before  shining 
into  his  mind  to  give  him  the  light  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God,  in  the  face 
of  Jesus  Christ.  And  painful  as  it  was,  I 
think  his  experience  was  most  salutary,  at 
this  time.  He  learned,  so  as  never  to  for- 
get or  doubt  the  great  truth,  that  no  man 
can  come  to  Christ,  except  he  be  drawn  by 
the  Father ;  and  that  we  can  so  discern  the 
glory  of  Jesus  as  to  call  him  Lord,  only  by 
the  Holy  Ghost.  It  was  truly  refreshing, 
after  Jesus  Christ  was  revealed  to  him,  and 
in  him,  to  hear  his  unreserved  and  unquali- 
fied ascription  of  all  the  praise  to  God.  He 
could  not  withhold  the  ascription,  because 
he  had  effectually  learned  his  helplessness. 


CONVICTION     PROLONGED.  55 

After  the  interview  of  the  morning,  I 
remained  to  witness  the  examination  of 
Davis's  neck,  by  eminent  surgeons  of  New 
York  and  Brooklyn.  And  I  feel  it  to  be  at 
once  a  duty  and  pleasure,  to  state  here, 
that  Dr.  T.  L.  Mason,  of  Brooklyn,  who 
had  the  case  in  charge,  manifested  to  the 
last,  the  most  tender  concern  for  the  salva- 
tion of  his  patient.  Believing  his  injury  to 
be  fatal,  he  deeply  felt,  as  a  Christian  man, 
that  everything  should  be  made  subordinate 
to  his  reconciliation  with  God.  And  he 
acted  accordiagly,  sharing  fully  in  the  great 
joy  of  many  hearts,  when  the  salvation  of 
God  came,  as  we  all  believed,  to  the  suf- 
ferer. He  has  never  known,  perhaps,  how 
his  Christian  consideration  comforted  the 
family  and  friends  of  Davis,  and  drew  forth 
prayers  and  thanksgivings  on  his  account. 

The  examination  had  at  this  time  re- 
vealed the  fact,  th^t  the  sixth  cervical  ver- 


56  THELASTWEEK. 

tebra  was  drawn  forward  and  sideways  out 
of  its  place,  but  not  the  fact  afterwards 
learned,  that  it  was  broken  into  several 
pieces.  And  as  this  latter  fact  was  not 
known,  the  thought  was  entertained  of  an 
operation,  having  for  its  object  the  restora- 
tion of  the  bone  to  its  true  place  in  the 
spinal  column. 

It  was  distressing  to  leave  Davis,  so  near 
the  eternal  world,  writhing  under  the  strong 
conviction  of  his  exposure  to  God's  just 
wrath,  and  unable  to  see  the  way  of  life. 
But  there  was  no  alternative.  We  may  not 
dictate  to  God,  as  to  the  fact,  the  time,  or 
any  of  the  circumstances  of  a  sinner's  con- 
version. We  can  instruct  the  sinner,  and 
plead  with  him  to  be  reconciled  to  God. 
We  may  send  up  our  petition  to  the  throne 
of  the  heavenly  grace,  putting  it  into  the 
hands  of  our  Great  High  Priest,  who  ever 
liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us.      But 


CONVICTION     PROLONGED.  57 

what  then?  We  may  not  clamour  to  be 
heard.  We  must  not  abuse  the  privilege 
of  holy  importunity.  We  are  to  wait  on 
God,  and  wait  for  God.  And  many  suppli- 
ants did  this  in  behalf  of  Davis.  His  case 
excited  extraordinary  interest,  and  for  the 
simple  reason  that,  ia  every  respect,  it  was 
an  extraordinary  case.  He  was  the  subject 
of  special  prayer  that  evening,  and  after- 
wards, in  at  least  two  sanctuaries ;  while 
his  name  was  mentioned  at  many  dr«nestic 
and  private  altars. 

The  Kev.  E.  L.  Janes,  at  that  time  pastor 
of  the  South  Fifth  Street  M.  E.  Church, 
Williams  burgh,  was  a  friend  of  the  family, 
and  manifested  a  very  tender  and  intelli- 
gent interest  in  the  welfare  of  Davis ;  in 
his  church,  therefore,  prayer  was  offered. 

And  as  for  my  own  Church — our  usual 
lecture  was  omitted,  that  we  might  fully 
consider  the  condition  of  the  sufferer,  and 
bring  his  case  before  God  in  prayer. 


58  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

I  told  the  people  all  that  the  physicians 
had  then  discovered  and  made  known,  as  to 
his  physical  condition;  of  the  probability 
that  the  proposed  operation  to  reduce  the 
dislocation  of  the  neck,  would  result  in  in- 
stant death;  and  that  for  this  reason  the 
operation  would  be  postponed  till  the  latest 
possible  moment,  in  the  hope  that  he  might 
be  prepared  for  his  change. 

I  told  them  also,  particularly,  of  the  deep 
and  distressing  convictions  under  which  I 
left  him  in  the  morning.  And  then  we 
tried  to  reflect  upon  the  relations  of  an  un- 
pardoned soul  to  God,  to  all  the  provisions 
of  grace  revealed  in  the  Scriptures,  and  to 
eternity.  It  w^as  a  night  to  be  remembered. 
Our  hearts  were  still  under  the  influence  of 
the  great  truths  relating  to  our  royal  priest- 
hood, that  had  been  considered  on  the  Sab- 
bath ;  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Paraclete, 
was  with  ivi.     Seldom  is  a  company  of  sup- 


CONVICTION  PROLONGED.    59 

piicants  placed  in  circumstances  to  see  so 
vividly,  that  an  immortal  soul,  trembling  on 
tlie  verge  of  the  eternal  world,  without 
hope,  must  be  rescued  by  their  faith  or  lost 
forever;  and  most  tender,  fervent,  and 
reverential  intercessions  went  up  to  God 
from  many  hearts. 

Dr.  Duff,  years  ago,  wrote  of  the  effect 
produced  in  Calcutta  on  large  numbers  of 
the  Hindoo  young  men,  by  the  instructions 
of  the  missionaries.  They  were  brought,  in 
many  instances,  apparently  to  the  verge  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  there  they 
stopped.  Across  the  invisible  line  that 
divides  that  kingdom  from  the  world,  no 
demonstrations  of  science  subverting  their 
old  superstitions,  and  no  persuasions  of 
love,  could  move  them.  Till  God  interposed 
in  the  sovereignty  and  might  of  His  won- 
drous grace,  they  were  lost,  though  ration- 
ally convinced  of  the  truth  of  Christianity 


60  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

We  deeply  felt  that,  till  God  interposed 
to  draw  Davis  to  Christ  by  His  word  and 
Spirit,  he  was  lost. 

We  can  never  know  in  this  world,  what 
connection  the  intercessions  of  that  night, 
and  the  innumerable  prayers  of  God's 
people  in  the  closet,  the  family,  and  the 
sanctuary,  had  with  the  result  soon  to  be 
mentioned.  But  I  should  think  myself 
guilty  of  a  sinful  omission,  if  I  did  not  give 
them  a  very  prominent  place  among  the 
divinely  appointed  and  honoured  means  of 
his  salvation. 

And  I  venture  to  close  the  records  of 
this  day  with  a  few  inquiries  that  often 
press  themselves  upon  my  own  heart  for 
solution. 

Why  should  we  not  feel  as  intense  a  de- 
sire for  the  salvation  of  every  unpardoned 
sinner,  to  whom  we  have  access,  as  for  one 
in  the   appalling  circumstances  of  Davis  ? 


CONVICTION     PROLONGED.         61 

The  perils  of  the  soul  are  always  great 
beyond  conception,  till  refuge  is  found  in 
the  living  Redeemer.  How  can  w^e  endure 
to  see  the  destruction  of  our  kindred  ? 

How  can  w^e  rest,  while  scores  of  our 
friends  and  neighbours,  living  in  pleasures, 
are  dead,  according  to  the  divine  and  pub- 
lished judgment? 

Where  are  the  bowels  of  our  compassion 
for  the  whole  world  lying  in  wickedness  ? 

The  wail  of  a  single  dying  sinner,  dis- 
tinctly heard,  drives  sleep  from  our  eyes, 
and  draws  us  together  as  earnest  suppli- 
ants around  the  mercy-seat;  but  we  have 
only  to  listen,  and  we  shall  hear  the  groans 
of  thousands  dying  in  their  sins,  shrink- 
ing back  from  the  grave,  not  only  with  an 
instinctive  horror,  but  with  dark  and 
reasonable  forebodings  of  the  eternal  con- 
sequences of  leaving  this  world  as  they  are. 
Why  are  we  not  in  sympathy  with  Jesus, 


62  THE     LAST    WEEK. 

who,  giving  us  life  in  His  blood,  and  in  eter- 
nal (connexion  with  His  Person,  by  the  in- 
dwelling of  the  Holy  Ghost,  asks  and  ex- 
pects us  to  come  to  His  help  for  the  saving 
of  the  world  ?  I  pray  that  God  may  make 
any  impressions  the  reader  has  received,  in 
looking  upon  the  dying  youth  of  whom  I  am 
writing,  minister  to  a  permanent  and  ever- 
increasing  desire  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 
The  letter  that  follows  was  the  second 
left  with  the  parents  of  Davis,  to  be  read 
to  him  in  my  absence  : 

"Tuesday  Morning,  July  21,  185*7. 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Johnson  : 

"You  are  still  spared,  in  the  great  mer- 
cy of  God,  and  can  cry  unto  Him  to  save 
you.  If  He  had  wished  your  destruction, 
how  easil}^  could  He  have  taken  away  your 
reason  and  consciousness !  Be  persuaded 
to  beheve  that  He  now  waits  to  be  gracious ; 
and  do  not  delay  a  moment  longer  to  flee 


CONVICTION     PROLONGED.  63 

for  refuge,  to  lay  hold  upon  the  hope  set 
before  you  in  the  gospel. 

"Let  me  urge  you,  first,  to  turn  away 
from  father,  mother,  ministers,  and  friends ; 
for  they  cannot  give  relief  to  your  poor 
body ;  much  less  can  they  save  your  soul 
and  body  from  the  curse,  the  power,  and 
the  vileness  of  sin.  Your  only  help  is  in 
the  very  God  whose  law  you  have  broken, 
and  whose  dear  Son  you  have  refused  to 
believe  and  obey. 

"And  I  beg  you  next,  not  to  form  your 
opinion  of  your  character  from  the  judg- 
ment of  men,  and  the  commendations  of 
friends  who  tenderly  love  you ;  but  from 
the  true,  and  searching,  and  blessed  word 
of  God.  Dismiss  the  thought  from  your 
mind,  that  you  are  fit  to  appear  with  joy 
and  safety  before  God.  Remember,  I  en- 
treat you,  that  though  you  had  been  kept 
from  all  immoralities,  from  profaneness,  sab- 


64  THELASTWEEK. 

bath-breaking,  and  other  open  transgres- 
sions, you  have  not  been  kept  from  the  sin 
of  rejecting  the  Son  of  God  as  your  Saviour. 
This  is  the  great  sin  of  men,  all  unbelieving 
men,  in  a  Christian  land.  So  the  Saviour 
Himself  teaches. 

"Remember,  further,  my  dear  sir,  that 
you  must  be  convinced  of  sin,  your  own  sin ; 
that  you  are  such  a  sinner  as  God  says  you 
are;  that  your  sins  make  you  vile  in  the 
sight  of  God ;  that  they  justly  expose  you 
to  the  displeasure  of  God ;  and  that  you 
are  helpless,  lying  before  God,  at  His  mercy. 

"  These  are  great  and  distressing  truths, 
but  they  are  salutary ;  and  may  our  gra- 
cious God  bless  them  to  ycu.  And  now, 
will  you  pray  for  the  Holy  Spirit  to  give 
you  this  conviction  ?  It  is  His  work ;  and 
you  must,  you  will,  look  to  Him.  Let  your 
dying  breath  be  spent  in  pleading  for  the 
Holy  Spirit.      He   will  not  only   convince 


CONVICTION    PROLONGED.  65 

you  of  sin,  but  effectually  change  your 
heart,  and  lead  you  to  Christ.  You  must 
be  born  again.  You  must  receive  and  rest 
upon  Jesus  Christ  as  your  own  Saviour. 
My  heart  is  grieved  for  you,  that  you  have 
delayed  this  momentous  work  till  now;  but 
do  not  delay  another  moment.  Though 
your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  and  your  time  so 
short,  Jesus  can  and  will  save  you,  if  you 
will  cast  yourself  upon  Him  alone  for  salva- 
tion. Once  more  I  beseech  you  to  do  this, 
and  I  pray  that  you  may  be  persuaded  and 
enabled  to  do  it. 

^•'  Sincerely  your  friend, 

"  J.  D.  Wells." 

There  is  one  point  in  this  letter,  on  which 

I  am  constrained  to  remark,  in  a  sentence 

or  two.      Possibly  some   awakened   sinner 

reading  it,  may  have  his  mind  confused,  as 

to  the  precise  thing  he  must  do  to  be  saved. 

6* 


66  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

*^Let  your  dying  breath,"  I  wrote  to  Davis, 
"be  spent  in  pleading  for  the  Holy  Spirit." 
Taken  in  their  connexion,  especially  in  con- 
nexion with  the  repeated  oral  instructions 
he  received,  to  look  to  Jesus,  to  come  to 
Jesus,  and  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  I  do  not  think  there  was  any  danger 
that  these  words  would  divert  his  attention 
from  Christ.  And  now,  what  the  reader 
must  do  to  be  saved,  is  to  believe  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Apply  to  Him  at  once, 
and,  of  course,  just  as  you  are.  You  need 
a  broken  heart,  and  the  pardon  of  your 
sins;  but  He  is  exalted  a  Prince  and  a 
Saviour,  to  give  repentance  to  Israel,  and 
forgiveness  of  sins.  Remember  that  He 
baptizeth  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that  it 
is  right  to  ask  Him  for  this  baptism.  Your 
asking  for  it  is  an  application,  a  coming  to 
Him.  Rest  upon  Him,  then.  It  is  the 
Living  Person  you  want.    Seek  Him,  rather 


CONVICTION    PROLONGED.  67 

than  salvation,  and  you  will  have  salvation, 
in  Him,  "  Who  of  God  is  made  unto  us  wis- 
dom, and  righteousness,  and  sane tifi  cation, 
and  redemption ;  that,  according  as  it  is 
written,  He  that  glorieth,  let  lum  glory  in 
the  Lord." 


CHAPTER  VT. 

WEDNESDAY  MORNING,  JULY  22. 

"InSOMTCH    that,    if    it    "WERE    POSSIBLE,    THEY    SHALL     DB' 
OBITE    THE    VERY    ELECT."  JESUS. 


"Itorb  |esu,  tl^oit  bibst  bob 
i^^g  bghtg  l^eab  npoit  l^e  ixtt: 
#^,  be  not  nofaj 
Pore  bcab  lo  me! 
^axb,  \^mx !    ^^all  Pe  l^at  mabe  llje  ear  not  l^ear  ?" 


VI. 

At  the  morning  visit  I  found  Davis  not 
perceptibly  weaker  in  body  than  yesterday. 
He  was  still  suffering  under  the  crushing 
weight  of  his  unpardoned  sins.  He  could 
not  find  the  way  of  life.  All  the  energies  of 
his  soul  seemed  to  be  expended  on  the 
momentous  inquiry,  "  What  must  I  do  to 
be  saved  ?" 

He  had  been  thinking  deeply  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  startled  me  at  last  by  saying  with 
perfect  frankness : 

"  I  DO  NOT  SEE  THAT  GOD  CAN  RECEIVE  ME, 
TILL  AFTER  I  HAVE  SUFFERED  IN  HELL." 

This  sentence  alone,  of  all  that  Davis  ut^ 
tered  during  that  remarkable  week,  shocked 


72  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

and  alarmed  me.  It  showed  that  he  was 
not  yet  really  slain  by  the  law  of  God,  and 
that  he  knew  but  little  of  its  holiness, 
spirituality,  breadth,  and  pure  justice.  It 
was  a  revelation  of  very  imperfect  views  of 
the  malignity  and  vileness  of  his  sins,  and 
of  his  own  ill  desert  on  account  of  them. 
It  implied  a  rejection  of  the  plainest  truths 
of  the  Scripture,  as  to  the  eternity  of  future 
punishments.  And  then  it  showed  that 
notwithstanding  his  bitter  anguish  of  soul, 
and  his  apparently  sincere  approval  of  God's 
condemning  sentence  under  which  he  lay, 
he  was  still  so  blind  as  utterly  to  overlook 
the  Person  and  the  atonement  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  as  his  only  hope. 

Most  earnestly  did  I  labour  to  show  him 
that  he  was  hiding  in  a  refuge  of  lies ;  that 
his  doom  was  indeed  sealed  forever,  if,  with 
the  Bible  in  his  hands,  and  the  opportunity 
of  knowing  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  he 


A     FATAL     DELUSION.  73 

should  die  clinging  to  the  wretched  hope  he 
had  just  expressed.  It  was  shown  to  be  a 
false  hope.  I  did  not  know  at  the  time  its 
origin  in  his  heart ;  it  seemed  to  me  like  a 
strong  delusion — a  fiery  dart  injected  into 
his  mind — to  destroy  him  at  the  last  mo- 
ment. 

I  have  since  learned  that  some  of  his 
associates  were  Universalists  and  Restora- 
tionists.  He  had  heard  their  views  thrown 
out  in  the  freedom  of  debate,  and  though 
he  did  not  consciously  embrace  them,  they 
left  their  deadly  impress  on  his  heart.  And 
how  congenial  to  the  human  heart  are  such 
views  !  It  is  a  marvellous  demonstration  of 
the  power  of  truth,  the  supremacy  of  con- 
science, and  the  grace  of  Jesus,  that  there 
are  no  more  Universalists  and  Restoration- 
ists  in  Christendom.  But  how  should  our 
sons  and  daughters  be  grounded  in  the 
truth,  before  they  are  exposed  in  society, 


74  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

to  the  remotest  suo:o;estions  of  this  most  in- 
sidioiis  and  dan2;erous  of  all  heresies ! 

In  Davis's  mind  there  was  a  distinct, 
though  not  hitherto  influential  impression, 
that  sinners  might  possibly  be  saved  after  a 
period  of  suffering — longer  or  shorter,  ac- 
cording to  their  deserts — in  hell.  Driven 
by  the  truth  and  Spirit  of  God  to  the 
borders  of  despair,  and  ready  to  catch  at 
any  straw  of  hope,  rather  than  fall,  as  he 
was,  into  the  arms  of  Christ,  he  caught  at 
this  straw.  "  The  heart,"  I  believe,  "  is 
deceitful  above  all  things  and  desperately 
wicked."  I  believe  also  in  the  personal 
agency  of  Satan,  and  that  he  employed  all 
his  wiles  and  power  at  this  fearful  crisis,  to 
deceive  and  so  destroy  one  whom  God 
loved ;  but  he  was  foiled,  and  his  power 
was  broken  by  a  stronger  than  he.  To  our 
conquering  Lord  be  all  the  glory. 

The  mind  of  Davis  had  great  vigour,  and 


A     FATAL     DELUSION.  75 

he  was  remarkably  candid  and  open  to  con- 
viction ;  moreover  he  was  intensely  anxious 
to  know  the  truth.  When,  therefore,  it  was 
spoken  to  him  with  authority  and  love,  in 
the  name  of  Christ,  his  whole  nature  bowed 
before  it,  as  a  tree  is  moved  by  the  wind  of 
heaven.  And  though  it  cost  him  the  pang 
of  renouncing  all  the  hope  he  had — a  hope 
that  was  indeed  a  lie  and  would  soon  have 
made  him  ashamed — he  was  enabled  to  do  it. 
He  was  in  total  darkness,  struggling  with 
the  waves  of  despair  and  death.  For  the 
moment  his  hand  had  found  what  seemed 
to  support  him,  and  though  it  was  piercing 
him  through  with  many  sorrows,  he  could 
not  leave  it.  But  when  he  heard  the  voice 
of  the  Beloved,  louder  than  the  noise  of 
many  waters,  saying  to  him  tenderly  yet 
firmly:  "Look  unto  me  and  be  saved;" 
"  Come  unto  me ;"  he  did  leave  it.  He 
bravely  let  go  his  hold,  to  struggle  on  tow- 


76  THELASTWEEK. 

ard  Jesus,  with  only  His  voice  to  guide  him 
through  the  billows  and  the  darkness. 
When  I  parted  with  him  after  prayer,  his 
soul  was  searching  as  never  before,  for 
Christ,  the  only  name  under  heaven,  given 
among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved. 

The  time  of  his  deliverance  was  at  hand. 

The  following  letter,  the  last  that  I  had 
occasion  to  write,  was  left  with  his  mother, 
and  read  to  him  : 

"Parsonage,  Wednesday  Morning,  July  22,  1857. 

"  Dear  Mr.  Johnson  :" 

"  The  Lord  Jesus  is  able  to  save  to  the 
uttermost  all  that  come  unto  God  by  Him. 
He  is  God's  own  and  only  Son;  and  He 
became  flesh  and  dwelt  among  men  full  of 
grace  and  truth.  But  this  is  not  all  the 
wonder  of  his  condescension ;  He  died  upon 
the  cross.  He  loved  us  and  gave  Himself 
for  us.  He  was  wounded  for  our  transgres- 
sions.   He  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities, 


A     FATAL     DELUSION. 


77 


and  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon 
Him.  It  pleased  God  to  put  Him  to  shame, 
and  to  make  Hiin  to  be  sin  for  us,  that  we 
might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in 
Him.  He  was  delivered  for  our  offences, 
and  was  raised  again  for  our  justification. 
And  now  He  is  exalted  at  the  right  hand 
of  God,  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour  to  give 
repentance  to  Israel  and  forgiveness  of  sins, 
and  His  blood  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin. 

" This  is  good  tidings  of  great  joy  for  you; 
you  may  be  saved  from  all  the  consequences 
and  vileness  of  your  sins,  by  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ.  The  plan  is  God's ;  the  offer  of 
eternal  life  is  made  by  God  Himself,  who 
knows  all  your  sins  ;  and  will  you  not  be- 
lieve that  He  is  willing  to  save  you  ?  Do 
you  ask  :  ^What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?'  I 
answer  in  the  words  of  inspiration,  '  Believe 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be 
saved,*  Acts  xvi.  31.    Here,  my  dear  friend^ 

7^- 


78  THE     LAST     WEEK. 


is  God  in  your  own  nature,  who  has  died  on 
purpose  to  save  sinners.  He  can  save  you ; 
and  if  you  will  just  believe  on  Him,  cast 
yourself  upon  Him,  quietly  rest  upon  Him, 
you  shall  be  saved.  Do  not  delay,  and 
do  not  doubt.  You  have  not  to  earn  your 
salvation ;  you  cannot ;  no  one  can  or  ever 
did.  We  are  all  to  be  saved  in  the  same  way, 
by  accepting  Jesus  Christ  as  our  Saviour, 
and  giving  ourselves  up  to  Him,  to  change 
our  hearts ;  to  make  us  truly  penitent  for 
sin ;  to  secure  the  pardon  of  all  our  sins ; 
to  make  us  holy ;  to  support  us  in  death  ; 
to  receive  our  souls  and  present  them  to  His 
Father  in  heaven ;  to  raise  us  from  the 
dead ;  and  to  acquit  us  at  the  judgment. 

"  Do  not  wait  to  be  any  better,  before 
hoping  that  God  will  accept  you  for  Jesus's 
sake.  He  will  accept  you  only  as  a  sinner. 
^  They  that  be  whole  need  not  a  physician, 
but  they  that  are  sick.'     Jesus  said  that 


THE    CRISIS.  79 

And  now,  it  is  the  poor  sinner  that  worketh 
not,  but  belie veth  on  Him  that  justifieth 
the  ungodly,  that  is  accounted  righteous  and 
shall  be  saved.' — Romans  iv.,  5. 

"With  much  sympathy  and  prayer, 

"Your  friend, 

"J.  D.  Wells." 

Here,  perhaps,  better  than  elsewhere,  I 
may  state,  that  an  extraordinary  interest 
was  shown  by  many  persons  in  the  welfare 
of  young  Mr.  Johnson. 

He  received  this  day  an  excellent  letter 
from  a  Christian  gentleman,  long  his  friend, 
urging  him  to  apply  to  Christ  for  eternal 
life,  and  assuring  him  of  earnest  prayer  in 
his  behalf 

But  the  most  affecting  tribute  to  his 
worth,  outside  of  his  own  family,  was  that 
which  came  iroji  the  officers,  and  many  of 
the  clerk«s    .f  ^h.e  "Atlantic  Mutual  Insu- 


80  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

ranee  Company."  Day  and  night  they  were 
with  him.  To  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents 
he  was  dear  as  a  son;  and  he,  with  some 
of  his  associates,  manifested  an  interest  in 
his  recovery,  or  his  preparation  for  death, 
rarely  witnessed.  One  cannot  but  ask  why 
it  is  so  rare  ?  And  why  dors  it  not  reveal 
itself  before  death  is  at  hand  to  dissolve 
their  relations  forever  ?  Surely  the  officers 
of  our  Insurance  Companies,  Banks,  and 
other  corporate  bodies,  together  with  Mer- 
chants and  Masters  of  all  grades,  are  sol- 
emnly bound  to  watch  for  the  souls  of  their 
young  men,  as  they  that  must  give  account. 

Davis  had  the  confidence  and  love  of  his 
employers.  Apt  to  learn,  and  reliable,  he 
was  rapidly  advanced  to  a  place  of  great 
responsibility,  performing  duties  never  be- 
fore intrusted,  in  that  company,  to  one  so 
young. 

He  had  his  faults ;  but  wken  to^:i  of  them 


THE    CRISIS.  81 

in  the  spirit  of  kindness,  he  frankly  owned 
the  truth,  and  promised  not  to  repeat  them. 
Nor  was  he  known  to  break  his  word.  The 
law  of  truth  was  in  his  lips. 

When  he  was  stricken  down,  therefore, 
manly  tears  were  shed  for  him,  and  prayers 
were  breathed  for  his  salvation,  by  Chris- 
tian gentlemen,  who  had  hitherto  known 
little  more  of  him,  than  that  he  was  doing 
excellent  service  for  them.  And  when  it 
was  known  that,  after  his  fearful  anguish 
of  spirit,  he  was  rejoicing  in  hope  of  the 
glory  of  God,  there  was  great  joy  among 
them,  as  well  as  in  many  other  circles  on 
earth,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of 
God  in  heaven. 


CHAPTER    YII. 

WEDNESDAY  AFTERNOON— JULY  2L 


"And  this  is  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me,  that  evert 
one  which  seeth  the  son,  and  believeth  on  him,  may 
have  everlasting  life",  and  i  will  raise  him  up  al 
the   last   day.'*  jesus. 


#lj,  ll^at  I  migljt  some  otljcr  l^caris  tonbtxt, 
giub  so  lahe  ttp,  nt  xiBt,  goob  stoxt; 

S^^at  to  QTIju  tijcsts,  l|;ere  niigljt  be  tomiixa  iw, 
§otlj  all  mg  prabe,  anb  more  I" 


VII. 

The  morning  interview  left  a  painful  im- 
pression on  my  mind.  The  frightful  delu- 
sion, under  which  Davis  had  fled  to  a  refuge 
of  lies,  was  broken  indeed ;  but  I  greatly 
feared  some  other  snare  might  be  spread  by 
the  Destroyer. 

It  was  with  deep  solicitude,  therefore, 
that  I  called  in  the  afternoon.  Before 
reaching  his  room,  I  was  met  by  the  mo- 
ther, wearing  a  joyful  countenance,  who 
said : 

"  Davis  will  be  so  glad  to  see  you !  A 
great  change  has  come  over  him.  He  has 
been  filled  with  joy  since  the  middle  of  the 
forenoon ;  and  it  began  in  this  way.     I  was 


86  THELASTWEEK. 

sitting  beside  him,  in  company  with  my 
younger  son,  when  he  suddenly  exclaimed, 
'  Oh,  mother,  Jesus  is  precious  to  me  ;  why. 
He  is  precious  to  me.  I  am  so  happy  !  I 
wish  I  could  go  to  Hira  now !  Don't  you 
see  the  angels !'  Anct  then,  at  short  inter- 
vals, he  broke  out  spontaneously,  as  if  look- 
ing directly  upon  the  Saviour,  ^Precious 
Jesus  !     Precious  Jesus  !' '' 

The  tidings  of  this  change  seemed  too 
good  to  be  true.  I  could  not  believe,  for 
joy.  Rather,  my  mind  was  preoccupied 
with  the  scene  of  the  morning.  I  was 
afraid,  for  the  moment,  that  another,  and 
still  more  subtle  and  mighty  delusion,  must 
be  encountered  and  broken. 

I  was  alarmed  at  his  reference  to  the 
angels.  He  spoke  of  them  as  ''hig  angels,'' 
and  seemed  to  wonder  that  his  mother  could 
not  see  them.  My  fear  was,  that  he  was 
about  to  rely  upon  visible  appearances  and 


SALVATION.  87 

wonderful  reyelations,  apart  from  the  Scrip- 
tures, as  the  ground  of  his  hope. 

I  know  that  an  angel  appeared  to  the 
holy  women  at  the  sepulchre  of  Jesus.  I 
know  that  He  is  Lord  of  Angels,  and  can 
just  as  easily  show  to  his  servants,  their 
glory,  as  his  own.  I  know  that  they  are 
"  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minis- 
ter for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salva- 
tion," and  that  they  are  glad  when  sinners 
are  brought  unto  Jesus  with  tears  of  peni- 
tence. I  know  too,  that  Christians  of  former 
generations  made  much  more  of  angelic 
agency  than  we  do,  for  I  have  read  "  The 
Ministration  of,  and  Communion  with.  An- 
gels ;"  by  Isaac  Ambrose ;  and  have  often 
heard  the  venerable  Dr.  Archibald  Alex- 
ander pray  in  the  Oratory  of  Princeton 
Seminary  and  elsewhere,  with  the  simplicity 
of  faith,  for  holy  angels  to  be  sent  as  at- 
tendants and  guardians.     I  once  witnessed 


88  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

a  scene  in  which  an  intelligent  Christian 
youth,  about  to  die,  startled  every  one  in 
the  room  by  calling  us  together  around  his 
bed,  and  exclaiming — his  eye  that  could 
not  see  the  sun  at  midday,  being  intently 
fixed  in  an  upward  gaze — "  Hush  !  Hark  ! 
Spirit  !"  Of  all  this,  and  more,  relating  to 
the  appearance  and  agency  of  holy  angels 
about  the  beds  of  the  dying  "  heirs  of  sal- 
vation," I  have  often  thought  since  the 
time  of  which  I  am  writing;  and  I  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  not  to  be  alarmed 
by  such  references  to  angels  as  Davis 
made,  if  there  are  satisfactory  proofs  that 
Jesus  is  seen  and  trusted  and  embraced. 
I  do  not  know  that  he  did  not  see  an- 
gels, and  "  big  angels,"  angels  excelling  in 
strength. 

But  I  was  alarmed  then ;  I  was  afraid  of 
some  new  delusion;  and  the  time  was  so 
short.     It  seemed  to  me,  that  the  responsi- 


SALVATION.  89 

bility  of  guiding  this  one  soul,  was  greater 
than  I  could  bear. 

As  I  approached  his  cot,  he  received  me 
with  great  affection  and  immediately  spoke 
of  the  change  that  had  taken  place  in  his 
views  and  feelings.  The  ecstasy  of  his  first 
look  at  the  Person  and  glory  of  Christ,  had 
so  far  subsided,  that  he  could  speak  calmly 
and  intelligently  of  his  experience ;  his 
countenance  always  fine,  even  when  shaded 
with  the  distressing  apprehension  of  deserv- 
ed wrath,  was  now  lighted  up  with  the  joy 
and  peace  of  a  believer,  and  he  expressed 
very  decidedly  the  hope  of  pardon  and  ac- 
ceptance with  God,  for  the  sake  of  Christ. 
I  asked  him  the  ground  of  his  hope.  He 
replied :  "  You  told  me  that  God  was  so 
willing  to  save  me,  that  He  wanted  to  save 
me,  and  that  He  would  save  me,  if  I  would 
stop  trying  to  save  myself  and  trust  in  the 


90  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

Saviour  •  and    this  I  do ;  there  is  nothing 
else  I  can  do." 

I  then  pressed  him  with  many  inquiries, 
to  learn  how  far  he  had  scriptural  views  of 
Christ,  His  Living  Person,  His  offices,  and 
His  sacrificial  death ;  and  whether  he  was 
really  drawn  to  Him,  and  constrained  to  re- 
ceive and  rest  upon  Him  alone  for  salvation, 
as  He  is  revealed  and  offered  to  sinners  in 
the  Bible. 

I  was  careful  to  ask  him  about  his  views 
of  sin,  whether  he  adopted  God's  views, 
scriptural  views  of  his  great  sinfulness,  of 
the  malignity  and  vileness  of  his  sins,  of 
the  justice  of  his  condemnation  on  account 
of  them,  of  his  entire  helplessness,  and  of 
the  necessity  of  his  being  cleansed  from  the 
pollution,  as  well  as  delivered  from  the 
punishment  of  his  sins,  in  order  to  enter 
heaven;  and  whether  he  was  looking  unto 
Jesus  to  do  all  this  for  him. 


SALVATION.  91 

To  these  inquiries,  and  to  many  others^ 
relating  to  the  renewing  and  sanctifying 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  his  answers  were 
clear  and  most  satisfactory.  From  Monday 
till  the  hour  of  this  interview,  he  had  been 
patiently  instructed,  both  in  writing  and 
orally,  on  all  the  points  of  evangelical  doc- 
trine referred  to  in  these  questions ;  and 
when  the-  divine  illumination  came,  the  shin- 
ing of  God  into  his  soul,  he  seemed  to  be 
translated  at  once  out  of  darkness  into  the 
marvellous  light  of  the  gospel.  I  was  com- 
pelled to  hope  that  he  was  indeed  taught  of 
God,  and  to  mingle  my  tears  of  joy  and 
thanksgiving  with  those  of  the  mother  over 
her  son  that  was  dead  and  lost,  at  length, 
through  the  infinite  mercy  of  God,  made 
alive  and  found.  And  I  could  easily  be- 
lieve, that  whether  he  saw  angels  or  not,  in 
the  first  flood  of  light  that  reached  him 
from  the  Person  and  throne  of  his  Lord, 


92  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

they  saw  him  and  rejoiced  over  him  with 
exceeding  great  joy.  "There  is  joy  in 
the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over  one 
sinner  that  repenteth." 

The  closing  sentence  in  the  record  of  my 
visit  to  Davis,  on  this  occasion,  made  im- 
mediately after  returning  to  my  room,  was 
as  follows : 

"  I  was  almost  overpowered  with  the  in- 
terview, and  with  the  evidence  that  his 
mind  had  apprehended  the  great  mystery 
of  a  free  salvation." 

Years  have  passed  since  that  interview. 
The  evidence  of  his  regeneration  and  union 
to  Christ  hy  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
accumulating  rapidly  till  he  was  struck  by 
death,  has  been  often  reviewed.  I  am  not 
wholly  ignorant  of  Satan's  devices,  nor  of 
the  great  danger  of  self-deception,  in  what 
are  called  death-bed  repentances. 

I  beheve  that  many  persons,  after  having 


SALVATION.  93 

long  tramj)le(i  under  foot  the  precious  blood 
of  Christ,  and  despised  His  authority  and 
love,  are  left,  at  the  end,  to  "strong  delu- 
sions to  believe  a  lie." 

I  am  sure  that  our  Adversary  the  Devil 
has  cunning,  malignity  and  power  enough, 
when  he  is  not  hindered  by  Jesus,  to  trans- 
form himself  into  an  angel  of  light,  and 
stand  by  the  dying  sinner,  on  purpose  to 
lure  him  to  hell,  by  leading  him  to  think 
and  say  he  is  going  to  heaven. 

And  I  believe  still  further  that  under  the 
influence  of  disease,  some  persons  apparent- 
ly go  through  the  successive  stages  of 
awakening,  conviction,  conversion,  and  ra- 
pid sanctification,  while  they  have  no  true 
self-control.  If  they  die,  they  are  believed 
to  be  safe;  but  if  they  recover,  they  not 
only  give  melancholy  proof  that  they  are 
not  Christ's,  but  they  retain  no  recollection 
whatever  of  their  own  professions  of  attach- 


94  THELASTWEEK. 

ment  to  Him,  made  while  they  were  sick. 
Such  instances  are  not  unknown  in  pastoral 
experience.  Therefore  let  no  one  delay 
his  own  application  for  mercy ;  it  is  a  vain 
and  dangerous  expectation  you  cherish,  that 
you  will  be  inclined  and  able  to  come  to 
Christ,  when  you  are  sick  and  dying. 

But  now  having  said  all  this,  I  must  add, 
that  I  do  not  believe  the  case  of  Davis  be- 
longs to  either  of  the  above  classes.  It 
must  be  possible  for  the  Holy  Spirit  to  au- 
thenticate His  own  work,  when  it  is  a  short 
work.  He  that  wrought  effectually  in  the 
dying  malefactor,  convincing  him  of  sin, 
constraining  him  to  look  and  cry  unto 
Jesus,  bleeding  at  his  side,  and  uniting  him 
for  ever  to  His  Person,  may  still  exhibit 
in  His  dealings  with  sinners  about  to  die, 
the  power  of  grace,  reigning  through  right- 
eousness unto  eternal  life,  bv  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord. 


SALVATION.  95 

The  following  chapters,  contam  abundant 
proof,  I  think,  that  Davis  had  become  a 
child  of  God  by  the  renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
justifying  the  strong  language  of  an  ex- 
perienced minister,  who  often  saw  him,  and 
whose  letter  is  given  later  in  this  volume  : 

"  I  doubt  not,  we  coincide  in  the  opinion, 
that  while  many,  if  not  most  cases,  of  death- 
bed  repentances  are  deceptive,  this  was 
real." 


CHAPTEU    VIII. 

THURSDAY  MORNING,  JULY  23. 

"For  our  light  affliction  which  is  but  for  a  moment, 
worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory  ;  while  we  look  not  at  the  things 
which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  not  ssiar.*' 

PATTL. 


^^£iT  oxir  taws  so  soon  s^all  tmst, 
g^nb  i\^t  Ijeart  lljat  sofos  in  angnis^ 
^^all  ^txmlki  imp  in  ^mu?" 


VIII. 

I  HOPE  the  reader  will  not  take  up  the 
record  of  this  day's  experience  without  a 
moment's  reflection. 

It  is  no  imaginary  sufferer,  or  ideal  Chris- 
tian, that  lies  before  you.  He  is  a  man  sub- 
ject to  Hke  passions  with  yourself.  A  thou- 
sand ties  are  binding  him  to  the  earth.  You 
probably  never  saw  more  manly  vigour  and 
beauty  in  one  so  young.  I  know,  that  you 
cannot  be  more  tenderly  loved  by  parents, 
sisters,  brothers  and  friends,  and  that  you 
cannot  more  fully  reciprocate  love,  than  he ; 
nor  can  your  earthly  future  be  brighter 
now,  than  was  his  at  the  hour  of  his  hurt. 
What  can  you  say   of  the  endless   future 


100  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

that  opens  beyond  you,  and  of  }^our  pre- 
paration for  a  conscious  and  accountable 
existence,  as  long  as  it  lasts  ? 

Davis  is  very  near  the  grave.  Death  has 
possession  already  of  more  than  half  his 
body,  while  it  is  fiercely  contending  for  the 
rest.  He  has  fearful  agonies  to  bear,  be- 
fore his  week  is  spent,  and  his  endless  Sab- 
bath with  God  comes. 

Observe  how  patiently  he  suffers;  how 
serenely  he  waits  upon  God;  how  cheer- 
fully he  walks  with  Jesus  his  Lord  through 
the  fire  kindled  to  refine  him,  as  silver,  and 
purify  him  as  gold. 

I  have  seen  many  Christians  of  mature 
experience,  enduring  the  chastenings  of  the 
Lord,  and  glorying  in  tribulation;  but  I 
never  saw  one,  of  any  age,  more  truly,  in 
every  way,  "an  example  of  suffering  afflic- 
tion, and  of  patience." 

When  I  called  in  the  morning,  I  found 


PATIENT    IN    TRIBULATION.     101 

him  stiU  cheerful  and  bright.  His  face 
beamed  with  intelligence  and  contentment, 
though  marks  of  great  suffering  had  begun 
to  appear.  Christ  was  bearing  him  ten- 
derly in  His  arms,  as  a  shepherd  a  wounded 
lamb,  causing  him  to  know  that  he  was 
perfectly  safe.  And  he  had  great  need  of 
the  humble  consciousness  of  such  a  relation 
to  the  Redeemer,  to  make  him  strong  for 
the  duties  and  sufferings  of  the  day. 

His  Brooklyn  physicians,  Drs.  Mason  and 
Isaacs,  had  already  decided  upon  a  final 
consultation  with  Drs.  Mott,  Carnochan, 
and  Watson,  of  New  York,  at  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon.  The  object  of  this  con- 
sultation was  to  ascertain,  after  a  careful 
examination,  whether  an  operation  for  re- 
storing the  dispkced  vertebra  to  its  true 
position,  could  avail  to  preserve,  or  materi- 
ally prolong  his  life.  I  spoke  to  him  of 
this,  and  told  him  frankly,  at  the  request 


102  THE     LAST    WEEK. 

of  Dr.  Mason,  that  an  operation  would  not 
be  attempted,  unless  it  was  found  that 
nothing  else  could  save  him ;  also,  that  if  it 
was  resorted  to,  the  probabilities  were  very 
much  against  its  success ;  and  that  it  might 
be  attended  with  instant  death. 

I  could  hardly  suppose  that  one  so  im- 
mature in  Christian  experience,  and  having 
so  much  to  make  life  sweet,  would  hear 
this  statement  without  alarm.  I  therefore 
tried  to  fortify  him,  as  far  as  possible, 
against  the  dread  of  death,  by  assuring  him 
that  Christ  would  never  leave  nor  forsake 
him ;  that  He  had  promised  this  in  a  great 
variety  of  terms ;  and  that  He  had  been 
with  others  who  trusted  Him,  in  times  of 
the  deepest  distress,  giving  to  His  faithful 
martyrs  the  grace  of  joyfulness,  even  when 
they  were  dying  in  the  flames  and  on  the 
rack.  But  he  did  not  seem  to  need  such 
comforting  suggestions  from  me.     Already 


PATIENT    IN    TRIBULATION.     103 

he  had  been  led,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  into 
the  depths  of  Divine  consolation,  and  had 
no  fear  of  the  worst  that  could  happen  to 
him.  He  therefore  waited  calmly  for  the 
hour  of  the  "final  consultation/'  ready  to 
do  and  suffer  the  will  of  his  Heavenly  Fa- 
ther concerning  him. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THURSDAY  AFTERNOON,  JULY  '28. 
"Oh,  my  Father,  if  this  cup  may  not  pass  away  from 

ME,    EXCEPT    I    DRINK    IT,    ThY    WILL    BE     DONE."        JESUS. 


Iljeit  all  trcHteb  streams  are  brieb, 
t^ljg  fulitess  is  llje  same; 
[ag  I  bitlj  l^is  bt  satisfied, 
§.«b  glorg  in  Ol^^g  name." 


IX. 

I  WENT  early,  and  remained  with  Davis 
till  half-past  six  o'clock.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Janes  was  there  when  I  arrived.  Knowing 
the  fearful  ordeal  through  which  Davis  was 
about  to  pass,  he  had  endeavoured  to  draw 
from  him  a  reason  for  the  hope  that  was  in 
him.  The  result,  as  he  assured  me,  was  a 
deep  conviction  that  the  sufferer  had  be- 
come a  beloved  child  of  Grod. 

Shortly  before  the  physicians  met  in  his 
room,  I  asked  him  if  he  was  willing  to  trust 
himself  in  their  hands,  knowing,  on  their 
authority,  that  any  operation  they  might 
decide  to  perform,  would  be  a  last  resort, 
and  that  the  result  would  probably  be  in- 


108  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

stant  death?  He  answered  promptly,  and 
cheerfully,  "Yes;"  and  then  added,  "I 
would  a  little  rather  live  than  die,  though  I 
do  not  know  that  I  have  any  choice  on  my 
own  account.  My  purents  and  friends  are 
very  anxious  to  have  me  live,  and  I  would 
like  to  live  for  their  sake;  otherwise,  I 
would  quite  as  soon  die.  Life  is  very 
short,  at  longest.  I  have  lived  twenty 
years,  and  they  are  nothing,  and  if  I  am 
spared  now,  I  must  soon  die." 

In  this  strain  he  spoke  with  great  sweet- 
ness and  liberty.  He  also  expressed  the 
thought,  that  he  was  gaining  a  wonderful 
experience  of  life,  as  it  were,  in  a  few  mo- 
ments.    Frequently,  indeed,  his  mind  was 

4 

absorbed  with  this  thought;  and  several 
times,  he  exclaimed,  "I  seem  to  be  forty 
years  old."  And  no  marvel.  The  sudden 
interruption  of  all  his  earthly  plans;  his 
experience    of    protracted    suffering;    the 


SUBMISSION.  109 

crowding  of  numerous  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances around  him,  anxious  to  minister 
to  his  comfort;  and,  above  all,  his  new 
views  of  himself  as  a  sinner,  of  Christ  as 
his  Saviour,  and  of  eternal  things,  revealed 
to  him  in  their  vastness  and  power,  added 
many  years  to  his  short  life,  if  years  can  be 
measured  by  thoughts  and  experience. 

Finding  him  steadfast  and  immoveable  in 
view  of  death — cheerfully  assured  that  no- 
thing could  harm  him  —  I  asked  him  on 
what  his  hopes  for  eternity  rested.  He 
answered  :  "  Simply  on  the  promise  of  God. 
He  always  keeps  His  word."  And  to  many 
other  questions,  meant  to  assist  him  in  the 
work  of  self-examination,  he  gave  ready  and 
satisfactory  answers.  It  was  a  rare  privi- 
lege to  hear  him  express  his  love  for  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  see  him  as  he 
drank  in  the  sweet  truths  of  the  gospel. 

Expecting   every  moment   to   have   our 

10 


110 


THE     LAST     WEEK. 


interview  broken  off,  by  the  arrival  of  the 
physicians,  and  wishing  to  give  Davis  as 
much  instruction  and  consolation  as  possible, 
in  final  preparation  for  his  great  trial,  Mr. 
Janes  and  myself  read  and  repeated  appro- 
priate passages  of  Scripture,  and  portions 
of  hymns,  and  prayed  with  him.  While  we 
were  thus  engaged,  he  gave  himself  up, 
most  intently,  to  the  hearing  and  reception 
of  the  truth.  I  thought  of  him  then,  and 
have  often  thought  of  him  since,  as  a  living 
receptacle  for  the  truth,  prepared  by  God 
Himself,  "a  vessel  unto  honor  sanctified, 
and  meet  for  the  Master's  use."  I  received 
new  impressions  of  the  adaptation  of  truth 
to  the  human  soul,  and  of  the  power  of  a 
gracious  soul  to  receive  and  appropriate,  or, 
if  I  may  use  the  word,  assimilate  the  truth. 
His  eye  was  fixed  steadily  on  us,  as  we 
spoke  in  turn,  each  suggesting  the  thoughts 
that  occurred  at  the  moment,  as  most  im- 


SUBMISSION.  Ill 

portant  for  him  to  have  in  mind.  And 
although  these  thoughts  were  drawn  from 
the  Scriptures,  and  we  expressed  them 
chiefly  in  the  words  of  the  Holy  Ghost, — 
words,  which,  in  some  instances,  he  had  not 
heard  since  his  experience  of  the  new  life 
— he  received  them  all  with  indications  of 
intelligence  and  delight  that  were  sur- 
prising. 

The  words  of  Holy  Writ,  "Swift  to  hear," 
express  the  exact  truth  of  the  experience  I 
am  now  describing.  He  was  "swift  to 
hear ;"  and  I  think  that  if  there  had  been 
any  method  by  which  we  could  have  brought 
much  larger  portions  of  the  Scriptures  be- 
fore his  mind,  during  the  few  moments  of 
our  interview — such  was  the  gracious  apti- 
tude of  his  soul  for  divine  things — he  would 
have  received  all,  with  very  little,  if  any, 
interpretation  on  our  part. 

Shortly  after  four  o'clock,  the  physicians 


112  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

came  into  his  room,  and  proceeded  to  ex- 
amine his  neck  and  spine  with  great  care. 
On  being  raised  from  a  horizontal  position, 
though  he  was  supported  with  the  utmost 
skill  of  those  accustomed  to  the  sick  room, 
he  suffered  intensely,  and  almost  fainted. 
His  pulse  went  down  to  twelve.  He  soon 
rallied,  however,  and  bore  the  examination 
with  great  fortitude. 

As  Dr.  Isaacs  moved  his  fingers  down 
the  spine,  toward  the  small  of  the  back, 
there  seemed  to  be  faint  indications  of  sen- 
sibility ;  but  they  were  deceptive.  The 
paralysis  was  final,  and  hopeless ;  and  the 
surgeons  knew  that  the  case  was  beyond 
their  skill. 

After  they  retired,  and  had  been  in  con- 
sultation some  time,  word  came  to  us, — 
waiting  in  painful  suspense  to  know  the 
result, — that  they  had  decided  not  to  ope- 
rate.    At  this  word,  and  the  apparent  sen- 


SUBMISSION.  113 

sibility  along  the  spine,  the  mother  caught 
as  a  straw  of  hope,  and  said  to  Davis, 
"This  is  encouraging;"  turning  to  me,  with 
the  inquiry,  "Do  you  not  think  so?"  I 
was  compelled  to  say,  that  I  thought  it 
important  to  have  no  impression  conveyed 
to  the  mind  of  Davis,  regarding  his  physical 
condition,  except  by  his  physician.  And 
very  soon,  alas !  Mr.  Dennis,  of  the  "  At- 
lantic Mutual  Insurance  Company,"  told 
me,  with  tears,  that  "  aU  hope  was  gone ; 
that  Davis  must  die,  and  die  in  two  or 
three  days,  at  farthest." 

It  was  a  great  relief,  at  the  moment,  to 
be  assured  that,  from  the  nature  of  his  in- 
juiry,  his  sufferings  would  not  be  great; 
that  the  paralysis  would  gradually  extend 
to  the  parts  of  his  person,  still  susceptible 
of  feeling,  till  life  was  gently  extinguished 
like  a  dying  taper. 

The   result   was   far   otherwise,  in  con- 
ic* 


114  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

sequence,  I  suppose,  of  the  remarkable 
vigour  of  his  constitution. 

With  the  sorrow  of  his  parents  when  the 
result  of  the  consultation  was  known,  a 
stranger  intermeddleth  not.  It  fell  to  my 
lot  to  tell  them  that  Davis  was  soon  to  die, 
and  to  witness  their  grief.  But  I  cannot 
speak  of  it.  God  was  their  refuge  and 
strength;  they  could  not  have  borne  the 
strokes  of  His  hand,  but  for  this;  and 
though  they  well  nigh  fainted  at  first,  they 
were  so  helped  by  His  grace,  as  to  endure 
their  anguish  and  conceal  it  from  their  son. 

In  nothing,  perhaps,  was  his  cheerful  re- 
signation to  the  will  of  God  more  remark- 
ably shown,  than  in  the  manner  in  which 
he  received  the  report  of  the  physicians. 
It  was  communicated  to  him  by  a  friend  of 
the  family,  who  had  left  the  house  while  the 
consultation  was  in  progress,  and  under  the 
impression  that  there  was  some  ground  of 


SUBMISSION.  115 

hope  for  his  recovery.  She  did  not  return 
tiU  the  result  was  known.  As  soon  as  I 
told  her  that  Davis  could  live  but  two  or 
three  days,  at  most,  she  sat  for  a  moment 
almost  paralyzed  with  grief,  and  then,  re- 
covering herself,  hurried  into  his  room. 
We  had  not  yet  agreed  upon  any  method 
of  communicating  to  him  the  certain  know- 
ledge that  he  must  die  so  soon. 

This  was  God's  method;  and  although 
at  first  the  mother  started  to  prevent  the 
sudden  communication  of  the  sad  tidings  to 
her  son,  there  was  really  no  time  to  hinder 
it ;  and  we  did  not  regret  that  he  was  thus 
made  acquainted  with  the  worst. 

In  a  moment  his  voice  was  distinctly 
heard  calling:  "Mother!  Mother!"  As 
she  entered  the  room  she  took  her  place  at 
the  head  of  his  cot,  and  behind  him,  to  con- 
ceal her  emotions ;  but  he  immediately 
said,    "I  want  you    to  stand   before  me, 


116  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

mother,  and  look  in  my  face."  He  then 
gazed  up  at  her  intently  and  continued : 

"  Mother !  what  is  this  ?  Have  you  kept 
anything  from  me?  Is  there  no  hope? 
What  do  they  say  ?" 

"No,  my  darling,  there  is  none;  they 
say  you  must  die;"  was  the  only  answer 
she  could  give. 

Closing  his  eyes,  as  if  to  help  the  power 
of  thought,  he  said  with  great  deliberation, 
"Is — that — so?  I  find  that  I  have  been 
clinging  to  hope,  more  than  I  thought,  but 

IT  IS  ALL  WELL." 

Thus  sweetly  did  he  bow  to  his  Father's 
will;  there  were  no  tears;  there  was  no 
rebellion.  Having  submitted  himself  to  the 
righteousness  of  God  by  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  renouncing  his  own  will  in  the 
most  difficult  of  all  the  acts  of  faith — the 
glad  acceptance  of  Christ  as  his  own  Sa- 


SUBMISSION.  117 

viour — he  found  it  comparatively  easy  to 
yield  in  everything  else. 

When  I  entered  the  room,  I  found  him 
trying  to  calm  the  grief  of  the  friend  who 
had  told  him  he  must  die,  and  talking  to 
her  of  heaven.  He  seemed  to  feel  no  soli- 
citude about  the  future  for  himself,  and  his 
chief  concern  now  was  to  persuade  her  to 
prepare  for  death. 

He  begged  her  to  come  to  Christ  at  once, 
that  she  might  be  ready  to  leave  the  world 
at  any  moment.  He  tried  to  tell  her  just 
what  she  must  do  to  be  saved.  "  Only  be- 
lieve," he  said;  "just  believe  what  the 
Bible  tells  you ;  this  is  all  I  have  done ;  I 
was  told  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  God  would  receive  me,  and  He 
has  received  me." 

"  But,  Davis,  you  are  good  and  I  am 
not,"   was    her  answer;    "I    have    never 


118  THE     LAST    WEEK. 

thought  of  God ;  I  have  lived  in  the  midst 
of  gaiety." 

With  great  seriousness  he  said : 

"I  am  not  good.  Why,  I  am  not  good; 
but  I  believe  what  God  says,  and  then  I 
just  shut  my  eyes  and  think,  and  the  angels 
are  all  about  me,  to  carry  me  to  heaven.  I 
have  had  evil  thoughts  and  feelings  twenty 
years ;  I  have  bad  thoughts  still ;  I  am  not 
a  Christian." 

This  last  remark  was  made  apparently 
under  the  impression,  that  a  real  Christian 
was  free  from  sin,  while  he  was  painfully 
conscious  of  his  depravity.  But  when  I 
explained  to  him  that  he  was  a  Christian, 
if  he  trusted  and  loved  the  Saviour,  he  was 
satisfied. 

As  this  conversation  progressed,  Davis 
occasionally  appealed  to  me  to  confirm  the 
sentiments  he  expressed,  thus  giving  me 
the  opportunity  to  speak  to  both,  some  of 


SUBMISSION.  119 

the  precious  truths  of  the  Bible,  that  were 
suited  to  guide  their  souls  into  paths  of 
peace ;  and  so  absorbed  was  he  in  the  con- 
versation, that  I  am  persuaded  he  did  not 
dwell  painfully  upon  the  tidings  so  lately 
brought  to  him  about  his  death. 

After  a  while,  however,  he  turned  his 
eye  to  a  Christian  friend,  who  felt  deeply 
for  him,  and  asked  : 

"  Di*d  you  ever  see  any  one  die  ?" 

She  told  him  that  she  had  seen  several 
persons  die.     He  then  asked  further  : 

"  Are  you  afraid  to  die  ?"  She  answered, 
"  No !"  and  immediately  asked  in  turn : 
"  Davis,  are  you  afraid  to  die  ?"  He  replied 
at  once : 

"  No  !  I  am  not  afraid  to  die,  but  some- 
how I  dread  the  last  struggle." 

And  I  know  that  the  fear,  even  of  dying, 
was  more  and  more  taken  away,  until  at 
last  he  watched  his  changing  pulse  with 


120  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

seeming  pleasure,  and  was  obliged  to  seek 
grace,  to  wait  all  the  days  of  his  appointed 
time,  rather  than  dying  grace.  With  many 
friends  holding  him  to  the  earth,  and  the 
Lord  of  glory  drawing  him  heavenward,  he 
was  in  a  strait  betwixt  two ;  but  his  pre- 
valent desire  was  to  depart,  and  be  with 
Christ,  which  was  far  better. 

Something  led  me  to  ask  him  at  this  in- 
terview, if  he  would  like  to  leave  any  word 
with  me,  for  the  young  men  associated  with 
him  in  the  Company,  by  which  he  was  em- 
ployed. 

With  much  feeling  he  said,  the  tears 
flowing  down  his  cheeks,  though  he  had  not 
wept  at  any  time  under  his  own  physical 
distresses,  and  did  not  weep  for  himself  in 
the  near  prospect  of  death  : 

^^Tell  them  to  take  warning  from  me. 
Tell  them  not  to  put  off  preparation  for 
death,  for  they  know  not  the  hour,  when 


SUBMISSION.  121 

the  Son  of  Man  cometh.  I  might  have 
been  killed  in  an  instant.  Only  think  of 
the  mercy  of  God  to  me,  but  they  may  not 
have  time  to  prepare  for  death."  And  then 
he  continued :  "  I  have  often  been  to  funer- 
als and  heard  what  was  spoken,  just  as  I 
have  heard  preaching  in  the  church,  without 
caring  to  understand  and  to  remember." 

He  was  anticipating  their  attendance 
upon  his  funeral  services,  and  fearing  that 
they  might  hear  in  vain  even  then. 

After  this,  his  mind  reverted  to  the  cer- 
tainty and  nearness  of  his  death ;  and  he 
expressed  the  fear,  that  he  was  not  troubled 
enough  about  dying.  On  this  point  he  made 
very  particular  inquiries  of  me,  remarking 
that  he  had  been  so  many  years  a  great 
sinner  that  it  seemed  wonderful  he  should 
be  now  dying,  and  yet  have  no  fear. 

It  is  well  for  the  reader  to  search  for  the 

ground  of  this  peace.     Davis  was  calm  and 

11 


122  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

often  exultant,  while  he  knew  that  death 
was  steadily  approaching,  and  had  come  al- 
most to  his  cot.  And  he  found  all  his  joy 
and  peace  in  believing.  He  was  shocked 
by  the  review  of  his  life ;  he  saw  only  a 
mass  of  sin.  "For  twenty  years,"  he  said, 
"  I  have  done  nothing  but  sin."  This  was 
the  honest  confession  that  more  than  once 
fell  from  his  lips ;  and  yet  he  had  peace 
with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Moreover  this  profound  peace  was  attended 
by  a  painful  sense  of  the  vileness  of  sin ;  he 
loathed  himself,  while  he  clung  to  Christ;  he 
clung  to  Christ,  because  he  loathed  himself; 
he  could  do  nothing  else.  When  told  that 
he  need  not  be  afraid  to  think  of  his  sins, 
and  that  he  ought  to  confess  them,  he  said 
that  he  had  no  reason  or  wish,  to  hide  them, 
but  was  glad  God  knew  them  all.  Still 
they  grieved  him  to  the  heart.  This  was 
apparent  from  the  hour  of  his  espousals  to 


SUBMISSION.  123 

Christ,  and  there  were  times  when  it  seemed 
as  if  his  soul  would  faint  under  the  dis- 
covery of  indwelling  sin.  '^  Oh,"  he  ex- 
claimed, during  the  affecting  interview  of 
which  this  is  a  very  imperfect  account,  "  I 
have  wicked  thoughts  now,  how  shall  I  get 
rid  of  them?" 

Thus  the  Holy  Spirit  revealed  to  him 
more  and  more  the  plague  of  his  heart,  and 
the  all-sufficiency  and  nearness  of  Christ. 
Up  to  the  close  of  this  day,  he  seemed  al- 
ways to  have  the  glorious  Person  of  the 
Redeemer  in  full  view.  But  a  new  ex- 
perience awaited  him.  The  early  hours  of 
Friday,  were  marked  by  the  hiding  of  the 
Saviour's  face. 


CHAPTER    X. 

FRIDAY  MORNING,  JULY  24. 

'Eloi,   eloi,  lama  sabaohthani  ?" 

jesus   on  the  ur08*. 


*"§nt,  O  MY  god!  my  god!  foljg  kab'st  l^ou  me, 
€\-Q  ^ow,  in  fo^om  ll^oit  bost  btUgljt  to  k? 
My  god!  my  god! 

^tbtx  feas  grief  lib  mine," 

11* 


X- 


I  WAS  sent  for  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, in  consequence  of  a  season  of  great 
conflict  and  darkness,  through  which  Davis 
was  called  to  pass.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Janes, 
who  lived  just  at  hand,  had  been  called  an 
hour  before,  and  was  the  happy  instrument, 
before  my  arrival,  of  leading  the  sufferer 
back  to  the  path  of  peace. 

The  following  letter  contains  his  account, 
of  what  he  appropriately  calls,  "the  temp- 
tation by  which  Mr.  Johnson  was  assailed," 
and  of  the  method  of  his  deliverance.  This 
view,  however,  is  perfectly  consistent  with 
the  idea,  that  the  progress  of  disease  was 
intimately  connected  with  the  dark  hours, 


128  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

that  cast  their  shadows  over  his  soul.  We 
are  fearfully  and  wonderfully  made.  The 
maladies  that  vitiate  our  blood,  and  shatter 
our  nerves,  make  it  impossible,  sometimes, 
for  even  the  Christian  vf  longest  experience, 
to  find  and  enjoy  his  Beloved. 

"Nevt  York,  February  20,  1860. 

"Rev.  J.  D.  Wells: 

''Dear  Brother : — In  reply  to  your  note 
of  the  13th  inst.,  1  will  say,  that  1  kept  no 
memorandum  of  my  visits  to  the  bed-side 
of  the  lamented  young  Mr.  Johnson.  As 
near  as  I  recollect,  the  point  of  the  tempta- 
tion by  which  he  was  assailed,  at  the  time 
to  which  you  refer,  was, — that  he  had  no 
right  to  hope  for  he-aven,  as  he  had  done 
nothing  for  the  Saviour  on  earth ;  and  that 
it  would  be  dishonourable  for  him  to  receive 
in  death,  the  mercy  and  salvation  of  that 
God,  whose  claims  he  had  disregarded  in 


DARK     HOURS.  129 

life;  and  this  awakened  in  him  the  desire 
to  live  long  enough  to  do  something  for 
God. 

"I  reminded  him  that  faith  is  the  Bible 
condition  of  salvation,  and  not  works ;  and 
that  were  he  to  live  a  thousand  years,  and 
keep  the  commandments  to  the  best  of  his 
ability,  still  it  would  be  necessary  for  him, 
in  order  to  be  saved,  to  cast  himself,  as  a 
helpless  sinner,  by  penitence  and  faith, 
upon  the  mercy  of  God,  through  the  merits 
of  Christ.  I  reminded  him  that  he  had 
already  done  this,  and  had  found  pardon 
and  peace;  and  that  he  must  continue  to 
rely  upon  Christ,  alone,  for  salvation,  for  a 
few  hours  longer,  and  he  should  be  saved ; 
for  God  had  said,  'He  that  belie veth  shall 
be  saved.' 

"This  view  of  the  plan  of  salvation 
(which,  in  the  hour  of  conflict,  he  had  lost 
sight  of),  seemed  to  break  the  force  of  the 


130  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

temptation,  and  he  was  enabled  to  replace 
his  wavering  faith  upon  the  atonement,  and 
centre  his  hope  of  heaven  upon  his  Re- 
deemer. 

"I  then  sought  to  engage  his  mind,  by 
quoting  passages  of  Scripture,  descriptive 
of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  his  invita- 
tions to  the  sinner,  to  share  in  the  benefits 
of  those  sacrificial  sufferings.  I  also  quoted, 
slowly,  and  at  intervals,  as  he  was  able  to 
listen,  the  hymn,  beginning  with  ^  Jesus, 
lover  of  my  soul,'  and  at  each  succeeding 
moment,  the  power  of  temptation  was 
weakened,  and  the  power  of  faith  increased, 
until  he  was  enabled  firmly  to  trust,  and 
calmly  to  wait,  for  a  happy  immortality. 

"Dear  brother,  I  have  no  ^suggestions' 
to  make.  I  was  impressed,  at  the  time  of 
the  funeral,  that,  in  your  discourse,  you 
gave  a  faithful  account  of  that  dying  seeker, 
and  a  correct  analysis  of  his  experience. 


DARK     HOURS.  131 

"I  cannot  question  the  propriety  of  giv- 
ing publicity  to  this  extraordinary  case,  in 
which  the  grace  of  God  is  so  marvellously 
exhibited. 

"I  doubt  not,  we  coincide  in  the  opinion, 
that  while  many,  if  not  most  cases  of 
death-bed  repentance,  are  deceptive,  this 
was  real. 

^' Yours,  in  the  fellowship  of  the  gospel, 

"E.  L.  Janes." 

It  was  a  great  mercy  to  Davis  that  he 
enjoyed  the  counsels  of  one  skilled  in  the 
blessed  ministry  of  truth,  in  the  time  of 
his  distress.  When  told  that  he  had  only 
to  be  willing  to  receive  Christ  as  his  Sa- 
viour, and  to  rest  upon  Him  alone  for  salva- 
tion, he  asked  with  great  eagerness,  as  I 
was  informed  by  one  who  was  present,  "  Is 
that  all  ?"  and  added  immediately,  "  I  am 
willing,  I  am  willing."    And  thus  ended  the 


132  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

temptation,  never  to  be  renewed.  Again 
the  Beloved  stood  revealed  at  his  side. 
For  a  small  moment  He  had  forsaken  His 
young  disciple,  but  with  everlasting  kind- 
ness He  returned  to  him  again ;  and  taking 
him  to  His  arms.  He  carried  him  in  His 
bosom,  as  long  as  we  were  permitted  to  ac- 
company him. 

Till  his  death,  Davis  never  regretted 
these  dark  hours.  They  were  often  re- 
ferred to;  they  gave  him  a  profound  and 
affecting  interest  in  the  mysterious  suffer- 
ings of  Christ  on  the  cross,  under  the 
weight  of  which  he  cried  out :  "  Eloi,  Eloi, 
lama  Sabachthani?  which  is,  being  inter- 
preted, My  God,  My  God,  why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me  ?'* 

They  brought  him  into  sympathy  with  a 
multitude  of  believers,  who  have  been  com- 
pelled to  lament  and  confess  with  David, 
Ps.  xxxviii.  3,  4,  "  There  is  no  soundness 


DARK     HOURS.  133 

in  my  flesh,  because  of  thine  anger ;  neither 
is  there  any  rest  in  my  bones,  because  of 
my  sin.  For  mine  iniquities  are  gone  over 
mine  head ;  as  a  heavy  burden  they  are  too 
heavy  for  me." 

But  he  could  also  add  with  them,  in  the 
hour  of  his  deliverance,  Ps.  xl.  1,  2,  "I 
waited  patiently  for  the  LORD,  and  he  in- 
clined unto  me,  and  heard  my  cry.  He 
brought  me  up  also  out  of  a  horrible  pit, 
out  of  the  miry  clay,  and  set  my  feet  upon 
a  rock,  and  established  my  goings." 

They  gave  him  breadth  of  experience, 
wonderfully  increasing  his  capacity  for  re- 
ceiving instruction  and  comfort  from  por- 
tions of  the  Scriptures,  which  he  could  not 
have  understood,  under  the  discipline  of 
physical  suffering  only. 

There  was  no  difficulty  in  his  embracing 
those  humbling  truths,  which  the  natural 
man  receiveth  not;   the  desperate  wicked- 

12 


134  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

ness  of  the  heart ;  the  pollution  of  sin ;  the 
entire  helplessness  of  the  sinner;  the  ne- 
cessity of  our  being  sought  and  saved  by 
Christ,  through  the  instrumentality  of  the 
truth,  and  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
and  our  absolute  dependence  upon  the  grace 
of  the  Redeemer  for  every  moment's  con- 
tinuance in  the  path  of  life. 

When  I  reached  the  house,  Davis  had 
come  out  of  the  conflict,  and  was  resting  on 
Christ  as  before ;  but  he  was  suffering  fear- 
fully for  want  of  breath,  and  from  extreme 
prostration  and  nervousness.  He  could  not 
bear  to  have  a  loud  word  spoken  in  the 
room ;  the  powers  of  life  sunk  so  low  in  a 
few  moments,  that  we  thought  him  dying, 
and  he  evidently  thought  himself,  that  he 
was  about  to  leave  us. 

"  Put  your  arms  round  my  neck,"  he  said 
to  his  mother;  "take  my  head  in  your 
arms,   I    am    going    to   sleep.      Good-bye 


DARK      HOURS.  135 

father;  good-bye  mother;  good-bye  Lonny" 
(his  brother  Alonzo),  and  thus  he  continued 
till  he  had  taken  leave  of  every  one  present. 
We  all  bade  him  good-bye,  and  commended 
him  to  God  in  prayer.  But  he  soon  rallied 
again,  and  continued  to  suifer  indescribable 
pains.  Indeed  the  entire  day  was  one  of 
agony  for  want  of  breath,  his  lungs  being 
partially  paralyzed,  and  the  paralysis  con- 
stantly extending;  and,  in  consequence  of 
this  impaired  respiration,  he  became  so  pros- 
trated, as  to  suffer  acutely  from  exhaus- 
tion. "  I  am  so  tired,  oh,  I  am  so  tired," 
he  would  exclaim,  scores  of  times  in  succes- 
sion, though  without  any  signs  of  impa- 
tience. Once,  as  he  opened  his  mouth  and 
panted,  his  broad  chest  heaving  in  the  effort 
to  get  his  lungs  filled  with  air,  he  said,  with 
an  expression  of  anguish  never  to  be  for- 
gotten by  those  who  saw  it,  "  I  would  be 


136  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

willing  to  suffer  again  all  that  I  have  borne, 
if  I  could  get  one  good  breath." 

It  was  his  earnest  desire  to  be  released 
from  his  misery  by  death.  "  Is  it  wrong 
for  me,  not  to  drink  water  when  I  want  it  ?" 
he  asked ;  "  I  should  die  without  it ;  would 
it  be  right  for  me  to  hasten  my  death  in 
this  way  ?"  This  question  revealed  at  once 
his  agony,  and  his  purpose  to  wait  for 
death.  I  need  hardly  say  that  the  water 
he  drank,  was  always  thrown  from  his 
stomach  in  a  few  moments,  as  pure  almost 
as  when  he  received  it. 

He  was  not  unmindful,  during  this  day 
of  ineffable  distress,  of  the  kind  offices  of 
those  who  ministered  to  his  necessities.  "  I 
thank  you !"  he  exclaimed,  calling  some  of 
us  by  name ;  "  it  was  very  wicked  in  me, 
not  to  think  of  it  before." 

My  record  of  this  interview,  made  at  the 
time,  closed  with  these  words :  "  I  could 


DARK      HOURS.  137 

write  a  volume  almost  from  the  experience 
of  to-day,  from  5  o'clock  in  the  morning  till 
half  past  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when 
I  left  to  return  to-night." 

At  this  distance  of  time,  I  shall  not  trust 
my  memory  to  add  to  the  account  already 
giveu,  but  proceed  with  the  record  made  of 
his  last  night. 

12* 


CHAPTER    XI. 

FRIDAY  NIGHT,  JULY  24. 

''Behold  thy   son.     *     *     *     Behold  thy  Mother." 

JESUS  on   the   CEosa 


'M\pt  t!}oug^  tbc  ttmpcst  rage, 

Jcnbeu  is  mn  Ijonu; 
^Ijort  is  mij  jjilgiimngc, 
JcnbciT  is  miT  l^omc; 
Slime's  tolb  nub  fointrg  blast, 
^ooit  bill  be  ober  past, 
I  sbnll  rcatlj  Ijomt  at  last, 

feabtit  is  mu  home." 


XI. 

It  was  my  great  privilege  to  be  with 
Davis  during  the  whole  of  this  night,  and 
until  eleven  o'clock  Saturday  morning. 

There  were  three  other  watchers ;  and 
some  idea  of  his  physical  condition  may  be 
formed  from  the  fact,  that  it  required  the 
undivided  attention  of  four  men  to  minister 
to  him.  Two  had  charge  of  his  arms,  and 
two  were  needed  to  care  for  his  head  and 
neck. 

The  entire  night  was  spent  in  extreme 
suffering.  Occasionally,  it  became  neces- 
sary to  raise  his  head,  that  the  air  might 
pass  between  it  and  the  pillow,  to  cool  the 
burning  heat,  and  give  a  moment's  relief  to 


142  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

the  dislocated  neck.  But  this  was  a  work 
of  great  difficulty,  requiring  the  combined 
skill  and  efforts  of  all  the  watchers,  with 
the  consent  and  direction  of  the  sufferer 
himself. 

The  scene,  precisely  as  it  was  then  en- 
acted, has  often  presented  itself  to  my  mind 
since  that  night.  I  have  thought  of  the 
labor  it  cost  us,  to  mitigate  for  a  moment, 
and  to  the  least  degree,  the  distress  of  our 
dying  friend.  I  have  thought,  too,  of  the 
rich  man's  request,  that  Lazarus  might  be 
sent  from  the  bosom  of  Abraham,  to  dip  the 
tip  of  his  finger  in  water,  and  cool  his 
tongue.  It  has  seemed  to  me  very  dread- 
ful to  bear,  or  even  witness,  the  sufferings 
of  the  present  time,  when  all  that  medical 
skill,  and  the  tenderest  devotion  of  love, 
can  do  for  their  relief,  is  faithfully  done. 
And  yet,  Jesus  bids  us  not  to  fear  the  suf- 
ferings of  time ;  not  to  fear  even  those  ene- 


THE    FURNACE    OF   AFFLICTION.       143 

mies  that  have  power  to  kill  the  body,  and 
after  that,  have  no  more  that  they  can  do. 
But,  at  the  same  time,  He  forewarns  us 
whom  we  shall  fear,  "  Fear  Him,"  He  says, 
"  who,  after  He  hath  killed,  hath  power  to 
cast  into  hell.  Yea,  I  say  unto  you,  fear 
Him." 

I  beg  the  reader  to  look  thoughtfully  on 
this  scene,  remembering  that  the  principal 
person  in  it  is  a  beloved  child  of  God,  and 
most  dear  to  many  hearts,  for  his  own  sake, 
and  for  Christ's  sake.  He  asks  us  to  move 
his  head.  Immediately  every  watcher 
takes  his  appointed  place.  One  stands  at 
each  side,  to  raise  the  arm  and  shoulder. 
Another  kneels  at  his  head,  with  his  hands 
gently,  but  firmly,  thrust  down  almost  to 
the  fracture  in  the  neck.  The  fourth  is 
ready  for  any  service  to  which  he  may  be 
called.  And  now  the  word  is  given  by  the 
sufferer  himself.     He  needs  great  fortitude, 


144  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

great  confidence  in  his  attendants,  and, 
above  all,  great  trust  in  his  Saviour,  to  give 
it,  for  he  is  sure  to  suffer,  and  may  die  in 
our  hands.  But,  with  a  cheerful  voice, 
that  helpj?  us  in  our  work,  he  says,  deliber- 
ately, "Now  lift,"  at  the  same  time  yielding 
himself  to  us.  If  we  begin  precisely  to- 
gether, and  do  not  change  the  relative  posi- 
tion of  his  head  and  body,  we  succeed  in 
raising  him  so  far,  that  his  pillow  can  be 
drawn  carefully  out  and  turned,  while  the 
fan  is  used  to  relieve,  for  a  moment,  the 
great  heat  of  his  head  and  neck.  And 
then,  with  the  utmost  caution,  he  is  allowed 
to  sink  down  to  his  place  again. 

Does  the  reader  imagine,  that  he  could 
be  in  such  a  case,  with  no  hope  or  possibil- 
ity of  relief,  just  about  to  encounter  the 
King  of  terrors,  and  yet  carry  forward,  suc- 
cessfully, the  neglected  work  of  seeking 
Christ  and  salvation  ? 


THE   FURNACE   OF   AFFLICTION.     145 

But  look,  still  further,  at  the  suiferings 
of  Davis,  as  the  last  long  night  given  him 
for  the  trial  of  his  hopes,  wore  away. 

There  was  intense  wakefulness,  an  entire 
inabihty  to  sleep,  with  the  feeling  that  the 
power  of  thinking,  was  beyond  his  control. 
There  was  no  mental  aberration;  but  the 
stimulus  supplied  the  brain  seemed  to  be 
excessive,  and  the  mind  could  get  no  re- 
pose. There  was  no  perceptible  relief, 
even  during  the  "sinking  turns,"  when  his 
pulse  was  a  flutter,  and  the  soul  seemed 
ready  to  depart. 

Again,  at  intervals,  there  were  spasms  of 
extreme  sensibihty  in  the  wrists  and  palms 
of  the  hands.  For  the  most  part  during 
this  last  night,  the  sensation  in  his  arms 
and  hands  was  that  of  numbness ;  they  felt 
as  if  they  were  asleep,  and  it  was  a  great 
relief  to  have  them  rubbed  and  pressed 
with  the  hand,  and  sometimes  very  briskly 

13 


146  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

excited  with  a  stiff  flesli  brush.  But  in  an 
instant,  and  frequently,  the  shattered  nerves 
losing  their  partial  insensibility,  became  so 
sensitive  as  not  to  bear  the  slightest  touch. 

Besides  this,  there  was  the  ever  increasing 
agony  of  impeded  respiration.  Paralysis 
was  creeping  through  the  lungs,  and  shut- 
ting out  the  vital  air,  so  that  the  sufferer  was 
forced  to  distend  his  mouth  to  the  utmost, 
gasping  and  panting  for  breath,  and  often 
crying  out  in  the  greatness  of  his  agony. 

Nor  was  this  all.  I  have  spoken  before, 
of  the  prostration  of  strength  consequent 
upon  his  inability  to  inflate  his  lungs ;  this 
steadily  increased  till  the  piteous  exclama- 
tion :  "  Oh,  I  am  so  tired,"  was  repeated 
hundreds  of  times. 

And  still  further,  there  was  the  aching 
of  his  shoulders,  and  sometimes  acute  pains 
in  his  neck,  so  fearfully  fractured. 

And  to  all  this  there  must  be  added,  rag- 


THE    FURNACE    OF    AFFLICTION.     147 

ing  thirst,  that  could  not  be  slaked.  We 
were  giving  him  iced  water  at  short  inter- 
vals all  night,  and  removing  the  cloths  upon 
which  it  was  thrown  shortly  after  he  had 
received  it. 

Here,  then,  was  a  remarkable  combination 
of  distresses,  any  one  of  which  was  enough 
to  tax  the  powers  of  human  endurance  to 
the  utmost.  Nothing  but  the  pleasant  as- 
surance of  the  sufferer's  union  to  Christ,  and 
nearness  to  heaven,  enabled  us  to  witness 
his  agony  with  composure.  But  as  the  case 
stood,  I  watched  all  his  changing  symptoms, 
as  well  as  the  attitude  of  his  mind  towards 
the  Saviour,  with  an  interest  amounting  al- 
most to  fascination.  It  was  really  wonder- 
ful, to  witness  the  conflict  between  the  vital 
power  in  his  noble  frame,  and  death.  Again 
and  again,  when  the  victory  seemed  about 
to  be  gained  by  the  destroyer,  he  was 
driven  away,  and  life  reigned  once  more, 


148  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

enthroned,    to    appearance,   as    firmly    as 
ever. 

But  I  must  speak  of  other  things  that 
occupied  our  attention,  during  the  night. 
Davis  was  tenderly  devoted  to  his  mother. 
He  loved  to  have  her  near  him.  Indeed, 
she  was  the  only  person  that  he  would 
allow,  to  sit  or  stand  before  him  for  any 
time,  looking  into  his  face.  He  shrunk  in- 
stinctively from  being  a  spectacle  to  be 
gazed  at,  either  in  pity  or  wonder ;  and  he 
more  than  once  requested  persons  to  leave 
the  room,  or  go  behind  him ;  but  always  in 
such  a  way  as  to  give  no  offence.  And  yet, 
as  often  as  his  mother  appeared,  his  beauti- 
ful face  beamed  with  pleasure.  No  hands 
were  so  pleasant  about  his  face,  as  hers. 
But  his  delight  in  her  was  so  unselfish,  that 
he  would  not  consent  to  her  remaining  long 
with  him  at  a  time.  She  was  much  worn 
by  constant  watching,  and  needed  rest.    As 


THE   FURNACE   OF   AFFLICTION.      149 

often,  therefore,  as  he  sent  her  away  from 
his  presence  into  the  adjoining  room,  he  ex- 
torted the  promise,  that  she  would  lie  down 
and  try  to  sleep.  At  the  same  time  he 
promised  to  send  for  her,  when  he  wished 
her  to  come  to  his  bed-side. 

This  was  his  own  arrangement  for  the 
night.  And,  four  times  I  think,  before  the 
day  broke,  he  asked  that  she  might  be 
called.  On  each  of  these  occasions  we 
were  compelled  to  witness  the  same  affect- 
ing scene,  retreating  as  far  as  possible  to 
hide  our  tears,  and  prevent  his  hearing  our 
sobs.  When  his  mother  came  in,  he  im- 
mediately asked  her  to  put  her  head  down 
and  kiss  him,  not  waiting  for  her  to  do  it 
of  her  own  accord.  He  seemed  to  be  eager 
for  this  embrace  of  pure  love.  At  the 
same  time  he  requested  us  to  lift  his  arms, 
and  put  them  around  his  mother ;  for,  though 

they  still  retained  a  measure  of  sensibility 

18* 


150  THE     LAST    WEEK. 

and  obeyed  his  will,  it  was  too  great  a  trial 
of  his  strength  to  move  them  far.  And 
holding  her  in  his  arms,  he  would  kiss  her 
lips  again  and  again,  as  if  drinking  thus  the 
very  love  of  her  heart.  "  Oh,  if  you  could 
could  go  with  me,"  he  said  at  one  of  these 
interviews,  "how  sweet  to  be  together." 
And  then,  rallying,  before  the  thought  of 
their  temporary  separation  had  become 
overwhelming  to  her  and  himself,  he  added  : 
"  Never  mind,  it  won't  be  long." 

Each  of  these  interviews  was  marked  by 
the  utmost  cheerfulness  on  his  part ;  he  did 
not  shed  a  tear ;  and  for  his  sake,  his  mother 
was  enabled  to  repress  her  emotions,  so  as 
not  to  weep ;  but  we  who  were  of  necessity 
witnesses  of  the  scene,  were  compelled  to 
weep  like  children.  Nor  was  it  easy  to 
recover  our  self-possession  after  they  were 
separated,  because  of  his  frank  declaration 
of  filial  love,  "Oh,   I  do  love  my  mother 


THE    FURNACE    OF    AFFLICTION.     151 

so;"  words  that  seemed  to  be  his  apology 
to  us  for  the  tax  he  could  not  but  see  he 
was  imposing  upon  our  sensibilities. 

It  may  be  properly  mentioned  in  this 
connection,  as  a  mark  of  his  good  breeding 
not  only,  but  of  his  delicate  Christian  sensi- 
bility, that  he  was  very  mindful  of  the 
attention  shown  liim. 

At  one  time,  as  I  was  wiping  his  face, 
and  removing  cloths,  upon  which  he  had 
thrown  water  from  his  mouth,  he  said  :  "  It 
is  very  kind  in  you  to  do  this  for  me — it 
must  be  very  unpleasant."  I  assured  him, 
that  it  was  far  otherwise,  that  I  accounted  it 
a  great  privilege  to  be  with  him,  and  to  do 
anything  for  his  relief;  and  then  I  reminded 
him  that  Jesus  washed  His  disciples'  feet. 
This  last  suggestion  strongly  arrested  his 
attention,  and  afforded  him  a  subject  of 
pleasant  thought. 

He   could   not   bear   much   conversation 


152  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

during  this  last  night  of  his  life.  For  this 
reason,  it  was  only  now  and  then  that  any- 
thing was  said  to  him  directly  upon  the 
subject  of  his  relations  to  the  Saviour,  and 
his  prospects  for  the  eternal  future.  But 
he  was  uniformly  calm.  He  watched,  with 
the  liveliest  interest,  the  state  of  his  pulse, 
and  all  the  indications  of  the  approach  of 
death. 

Once  he  lifted  up  his  arms  as  high  as  he 
could,  and  cried  out  (for  he  was  in  great 
agony),  "  Oh,  that  He  would  let  me  put 
my  arms  around  His  neck,  and  come  to 
Him  now."  I  asked,  ^^Do  you  mean  the 
Saviour,  Davis  ?"  "  Of  course,  I  do,"  was 
his  quick,  and  very  emphatic  answer.  This 
cry  to  the  Saviour  was  wholly  spontaneous. 
It  was  prompted  by  nothing  said  to  him; 
and  it  occurred  when  we  did  not  know 
that  his  thoughts  were  occupied  with  any- 
thing but  his  sufferings.      Even  then,  he 


THE    FURNACE   OF   AFFLICTION.      153 

was  looking  unto  Jesus,  gazing  steadfastly 
into  heaven.  To  his  faith,  the  Lord  of 
glory  was  a  real,  living,  and  accessible  Per- 
son, with  His  two  natures  inseparable.  He 
could  not  quite  reach  Him  with  his  ex- 
tended arms,  or  he  would  have  embraced 
Him  in  the  holy  familiarity  of  a  love  surpass- 
ing the  love  he  had  for  his  mother.  But 
he  could,  and  did  stretch  out  his  arms, 
those  poor  arms,  in  which  so  much  of  the 
life  in  his  dying  body  remained,  and  ask 
that  the  Saviour  would  let  him  come  home 
then. 

And  his  cm  was  heard. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SATURDAY  AFTERNOON,  JULY  25. 

I^iitftfll      Mlt0       i  lit  ft. 

".T3e    thou    faithful    unto    death,    and    I   WILL    GIVE    THEK 
#    CEOWN     OF    LIFE."  JESUS     IN     OLOUl. 


^0  tlosclg  arc  has.  Hixh'b  tit  kbz, 

€\}nt  all  Thy  bliss  anb  glorg  t^eir, 
Our  brigljt  nbarb  sljall  be." 


XII. 

At  eleven  o'clock  a.  m.,  I  very  reluc- 
tantly left  Davis,  to  get  some  rest,  prepara- 
tory to  my  work  on  the  Sabbath.  As  I 
parted  with  him,  I  kissed  him  good-bye, 
and  told  him  how  unwillingly  I  went.  The 
reader  must  indulge  the  freedom  of  my 
narrative.  I  was  parting  with  one  who,  I 
believed,  had  become,  through  grace,  an 
heir  of  glory,  and  a  beloved  brother,  an 
eternal  brother  in  Christ.  It  was,  there- 
fore, grateful  to  my  feelings,  to  greet  him 
with  "a  kiss  of  charity,"  and  to  have  him 
assure  me,  that  he  fully  appreciated  the 
necessity  for  my  absence ;  and,  the  more 
60,  because  he  had  expressed  a  desire  to 

12 


158  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

die,  having  his  mother  and  father  and  my- 
self with  him. 

Leaving  the  request,  that  I  might  be 
sent  for  immediately,  when  the  change 
came,  I  withdrew,  admiring,  and,  I  hope, 
adoring  the  matchless  grace  that  had 
abounded  towards  this  dear  yowng  man, 
through  Jesus  Christ.  I  could  not  but 
review  the  known  history  of  God's  dealings 
with  him.  The  first  fact,  in  that  short 
history,  has  not  been  given.  It  was  re- 
ferred to  on  an  earlier  page  (page  13),  but 
reserved  for  this  place. 

It  was  this.  On  Monday,  preceding 
the  Saturday  of  his  fatal  injury,  Davis 
visited  his  mother.  Drawing  a  low  otto- 
man near  her,  he  sat  down  at  her  feet,  and 
resting  his  head  in  her  lap,  as  he  was  wont 
to  do,  he  said,  "What  do  you  suppose 
brought  me  over?" 

"You  wanted  to  see  your  mother,  I  pre- 
sume," was  the  natural  answer. 


FAITHFUL    UNTO    DEATH.         159 


(( 


No!"  he  said,  "that  is  not  just  it.  I 
went  to  church  last  night,  in  Brooklyn,  and 
heard  some  of  the  old  hymns  and  tunes, 
that  we  used  to  sing  when  we  were  all  to- 
gether, in  our  own  church.  This  made  me 
feel  very  solemn.  I  thought  a  great  deal 
about  you.  I  was  in  such  a  hurry  to  see 
you,  that  I  could  hardly  wait  for  the  day 
to  pass.     Are  you  going  out  to-night  ?" 

His  mother  asked  if  he  wished  her  to  go 
out  with  him ;  when  he  answered,  "  Oh  no ! 
I  want  you  to  stay  home,  that  we  may  be 
alone  and  talk." 

This  was  their  last  evening  together, 
before  he  was  brought  home  to  die.  They 
had  much  conversation  on  the  subject,  so 
eagerly  introduced  by  himself.  He  could 
hardly  tell  what  it  was  in  the  hymns  and 
tunes  that  moved  him,  except  that  the 
associations  of  earlier  years,  when  the 
family  were   together,  and  all  worshipped 


160  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

in  the  same  sanctuary,  were  powerfully 
revived. 

But  there  was  something  more  than  this. 
Later  inquiry  has  led  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  facts.  On  the  night  referred  to — Sab- 
bath, July  12 — Davis  heard  a  very  impres- 
sive sermon,  in  a  Baptist  church,  on  the 
subject  of  Death  and  Eternity. 

It  was  observed,  by  the  Christian  friends 
with  whom  he  sat,  that  he  was  unusually 
attentive  and  serious  throughout  the  entire 
service.  They  spoke  of  this  to  each  other^ 
several  days  before  he  was  hurt. 

His  interest  in  the  service  was  at  its 
height,  I  presume,  when  some  familiar 
hymns  were  sung  to  favourite  tunes,  which 
he  had  loved  to  sing,  in  other  circumstances. 
It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  his  mind 
should  fasten  upon  that  part  of  the  service; 
in  which  he  had  come  to  the  consciousness 
of  serious  thought,  and  that  he  should  speak 


FAITHFUL  UNTO  DEATH.    161 

to  bis  mother,  of  that  only.  But  the  truth 
was,  he  had  been  deeply  impressed  by  the 
word  of  God.  The  faithful  instructions 
received  in  the  family,  and  in  the  Sabbath 
School  of  the  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch 
Church,  of  which  his  father  was  long  a 
Ruling  Elder,  and  his  mother  a  member, 
had  prepared  him  for  the  awakening,  of 
which,  though  he  knew  it  not,  he  was  the 
subject.  In  anticipation  of  his  last  terrible 
week,  appointed  for  the  development  and 
consummation  of  the  work  of  grace  in  his 
heart,  he  was  aroused  to  serious  thought 
about  death  and  eternity.  And  so  thorough 
and  abiding  was  the  arrest  God  had  laid 
upon  him,  that  six  days  after,  he  was  car- 
rying out  his  plan,  not  only  to  put  himself, 
again,  under  the  same  sanctuary  influences, 
but  to  take  his  younger  brother  with  him. 
To  this  fact,  of  earlier  date  than  the  facts 

of    my   narrative,    I    am   sure,    thoughtful 

14* 


162  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

minds  will  attacli  great  importance.     It  was 
distinctly  before  my  mind,  as   I  reviewed 
the  dispensations  of  God's  providence  and 
grace  towards  Davis,  on  the  occasion  of  my 
leaving  him,  shortly  before  his  death.     In- 
deed, it  was  the  first,  and  a  principal  fact, 
in  the  review.     I  regarded  it  as  the  reve- 
lation of  a  plan  of  mercy,  in  which  both 
the  severity  and  goodness  of  God,  towards 
a  child  of  the  covenant,  had  been  wonder- 
fully illustrated.     From  Saturday  night,  till 
Wednesday  noon,  he  had  lain,  most  of  the 
time,  consciously  exposed  to  the  wrath  of 
God.      No  arguments,  or  assurance,  could 
convince  him  that  there  was  any  possibility 
of  his  escaping  the  righteous  punishment  of 
his  sins.     For  a  few  hours,  on  Wednesday 
morning,  he  had  given  himself  up   to  the 
fatal    and    cheerless    delusion,    that,   after 
enduring  the  torments  of  the  lost  in  hell, 
he  knew  not  how  long,  he  might  be  released 


FAITHFUL  UNTO  DEATH.    163 

from  prison,  through  the  mercy  of  God, 
reaching  him  in  some  unrevealed  way,  and 
received  into  heaven.  But  prayer  was 
made  without  ceasing  for  him,  and  the 
mighty  truths  of  the  gospel,  Christ,  the 
wisdom  of  God,  and  the  power  of  God,  to 
every  one  that  believeth,  were  used  to  save 
him  from  death. 

Such  was  the  rapid  review.  And  I  was 
now  leaving  him,  as  I  fully  believed,  and  as 
many  sober-minded  Christians,  and  Chris- 
tian ministers  believed,  a  living  member  of 
Christ's  body,  a  child  and  heir  of  God.  He 
was  just  at  the  end  of  his  earthly  course ; 
but  he  was  also  close  to  the  gates  of  the 
Eternal  City.  His  hope  had  been  tried  by 
fierce  temptations  and  fearful  pains.  The 
graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit  had  been  wonder- 
fully matured  in  his  heart,  and  illustrated  in 
his  short  Christian  life,  and  many  persons 
had  been  led  to  glorify  God  on  his  behalf. 


164  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

Why  should  I  not  then  rejoice  over  him, 
with  unspeakable  joy  ?  I  gave  myself  up 
to  the  tide  of  emotions,  that  poured  through 
my  heart,  and, — if  it  be  a  weakness  to  weep 
in  such  circumstances, — to  the  weakness  of 
many  tears. 

I  had  hardly  slept  when  the  final  mes- 
sage to  make  haste,  if  I  wished  to  see 
Davis  alive,  reached  me  at  half  past  two 
o'clock,  p.  M. 

He  was  dying.  Already  his  countenance 
was  changed,  and  his  eyes  shut  forever 
upon  the  countenances  of  his  friends.  In 
the  terrible  conflict,  that  we  had  watched 
so  closely  for  a  whole  week,  death  was 
getting  the  victory,  but  we  all  deeply  felt 
that  the  sting  of  death,  which  is  sin,  had 
been  extracted  by  his  Lord,  and  that  he 
was  gaining  a  safe  and  glorious  triumph. 

He  retained  his  hold  upon  Christ,  up  to 
the  last  moment  of  consciousness,  remain- 


FAITHFUL     UNTO     DEATH.        165 

ing  calm,  and  collected,  and  trustful.  There 
were  no  clouds.     His  last  words  were,  "I 

AM  IN  A  STRANGE  PLACE;  WHERE  HAVE  YOU 
TAKEN    ME?     I    MUST   GET    HOME."       And  thuS, 

in  the  utterance  of  a  sentiment,  ever  true 
in  regard  to  the  heirs  of  salvation,  his  mind 
let  go  its  hold  upon  earthly  things. 

He  died  at  3  o'clock,  p.  m.,  of  Saturday 
the  25th  of  July,  1857;  his  father  holding 
his  right  hand,  and  his  mother  his  left  hand, 
while  it  was  my  privilege  to  support  his 
head. 

He  did  not  know,  perhaps,  that  his  wish, 
with  regard  to  the  circumstances  of  his 
death,  was  gratified.  I  was  thankful  to  be 
be  so  near  him ;  and  I  here  record  my  gra- 
titude for  the  unspeakable  privilege  of 
walking  with  this  suffering  member  of  the 
Redeemer's  body,  through  all  his  Christian 
course,  and  quite  down  to  the  river  of 
death. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

SABBATH,  JULY  26. 

"0  Death!    where  is  thy  sting? 
0  Grave  !    where  is  thy  victory  ?" 


l^AUI. 


"(iob,  ntji  Jlebwmer,  libcs, 
gittb  often  from  iljc  slues 
ITooks  bohin  aub  foatcljfs  all  mg  bust, 
CT  ]^£  sljall  bib  it  rise. 

g^rrageb  in  glorious  grace, 
^^all  tljese  bile  bobies  s^iiie; 

ginb  eberg  sljape  anb  eberg  fate, 
3!^ooh  Ijeabenlg  anb  bibine/* 


XIII. 

The  post-mortem  examination  was  made 
on  Sabbath  morning,  by  the  same  eminent 
surgeons  who  had  done  everything  possible 
to  human  skill,  to  save  the  life  of  Davis. 

The  result  is  given  in  their  own  words, 
as  written  by  the  lamented  Dr.  Isaacs.  To 
this  report  of  the  examination,  I  think, 
great  importance  should  be  attached;  not 
only  because  the  injury  itself  was  one  of 
rare  occurrence,  but  also  and  more  par- 
ticularly, because  every  one  can  see  how 
marvellous  it  was,  that  death  did  not  follow 

the  injury  on  the  instant. 

15 


170  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

^^Post  Mortem  Examination  of  the  Body  of 
Davis  Johnson,  Jr. 

"July,  26th,  1857. 

"  The  sixth  Cervical  Vertebra  being  the 
seat  of  the  injury, 

"  We  found  a  small  amount  of  extravasat- 
ed  blood  between  the  muscles,  and  also  on 
the  outer  surface  of  the  laminse  of  the  verte- 
bra. A  fracture  extended  on  each  side  of  the 
spinous  process  through  the  laminae  of  the 
vertebra  three-fourths  of  an  inch,  so  as  to 
separate  the  spinous  process  and  a  large 
portion  of  the  laminae  of  the  vertebra,  con- 
stituting a  separate  portion,  which  was 
forced  in  upon  the  spinal  cord  to  the  depth 
of  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch. 

"  No  blood  was  extra vasated  within  the 
spinal  canal. 

"  On  opening  the  dura  mater,  the  cord 
appeared   enlarged,   softened,  slightly   dis- 


SOWN     IN     CORRUPTION.  171 

coloured,  and  contained  minute  points  of 
extravasated  blood. 

"  On  examining  the  body  of  the  vertebra, 
it  was  broken  through  and  comminuted, 
being  divided  into  three  separate  portions." 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  injured  vertebra 
was  broken  into  three  principal  parts,  and 
that  one  at  least  of  these  three  parts  was 
"comminuted,"  or  broken  into  smaller  pieces. 

Who  does  not  wonder  that  he  lived  a 
whole  week,  and  such  a  week !  God  had 
given  him  a  remarkable  frame,  more  per- 
fectly developed  than  any  other  I  ever  saw, 
of  the  same  years.  It  was  overflowing  with 
life ;  and  not  till  the  end  for  which  it  was 
made  had  been  secured,  could  he  die.  Then 
the  fountains  of  his  nature  were  suddenly 
broken  up,  and  in  a  few  moments  his  soul 
was  poured  out  unto  death. 

The  funeral  services  were  at  the  house  in 
Washington   Place,   where    a    prayer   was 


172  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

offered  among  the  mourners  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Janes ;  and  also  at  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  corner  of  South  Third  and  Fifth 
Streets,  where  the  same  faithful  brother 
kindly  assisted  me. 

A  simple  narrative  of  the  principal  facts 
in  the  experience  of  Davis,  was  given  to  a 
very  large  assembly ;  and  these  facts, 
viewed  in  the  light  of  God's  word,  were 
used  for  the  comfort  of  mourners ;  the 
warning  of  those  not  reconciled  to  God, 
and  especially  of  those  to  whom  Davis 
had  sent  messages  of  warning ;  and  for  the 
instruction  of  all.  The  change  wrought  in 
his  condition,  his  character,  and  his  prospects 
for  eternity,  was  claimed  as  a  triumph  of 
Christianity;  a  change  impossible,  except 
to  the  grace  and  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
working  faith  in  the  sinner's  heart,  and 
thereby  uniting  his  person  to  the  Person  of 
Christ  in  his   effectual  calling.     And   this 


SOWN     IN     CORRUPTION.  173 

change  was  shown  to  have  occurred  in  con- 
nection with  the  persistent  use  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  the  fervent  intercessions  of  God's 
people. 

It  was  an  impressive  sight  when  that 
great  congregation  was  set  in  motion,  and 
passed  in  solemn  procession  by  the  open 
coffin,  to  look  upon  the  beautiful  features 
of  the  dead.  More  than  half  an  hour  was 
spent  in  this  way,  and  many  tears  were 
dropped,  even  by  those  who  had  no  personal 
connexion  or  acquaintance  with  Davis  and 
his  family. 

It  was  our  common  wish  to  postpone  the 
interment  of  the  body  until  Monday  morn- 
ing, leaving  it  in  the  church  over  night. 
But  this  was  found  impracticable,  because 
of  incipient  and  rapid  decomposition,  and 
we  were  compelled  to  carry  the  remains  at 
once  to  Greenwood.  Already  the  face, 
upon  the  faithful  representation  of  which 

15* 


174  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

you  have  looked  in  the  front  of  this 
volume,  was  growing  dark  with  corruption. 
We  were  glad  that  God  had  provided  a 
place  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  where  we 
might  bury  our  dead ;  but  none  of  our 
hopes,  which  sustained  us  at  the  parting, 
were  buried  with  him.  We  believe  that 
the  soul  of  our  beloved,  made  perfect  in 
holiness,  passed  immediately  into  glory, 
and  that  his  body  being  still  united  to 
Christ,  rests  in  the  grave  until  the  resur- 
rection. 

As  in  our  husbandry,  that  which  we  sow 
is  not  quickened,  except  it  die,  so  in  God's. 
First  the  dying,  and  then  the  quickening,  of 
the  seed.  We  mourn  at  the  graves  of  our 
friends,  though  we  are  sure  they  are  fallen 
asleep  in  Jesus.  But  we  remember  to  our 
joy,  that  the  decay,  the  beginning  of  which 
we  see  before  the  burial,  is  the  pledge  of  a 
glorious  harvest ;  it  is  the  dying,  that  pre- 


SOWN     IN     CORRUPTION.  175 

cedes  and  promises  the  quickening.  We 
waite,  therefore,  hopefully,  till  in  the  same 
resurrection  of  life,  all  that  are  Christ's, 
shall  come  from  the  sea  and  the  grave,  in 
the  perfected  likeness  of  their  Lord. 

We  go  home  from  the  grave  to  witness 
and  feel,  the  desolation  of  death.  If  time 
does  not  blunt  the  edge  of  our  sorrow,  the 
balm  of  the  Comforter  heals  our  wounds, 
and  we  learn  after  long  years  of  patience 
under  the  rod  of  our  Father,  that  He  is 
pursuing  the  best,  if  not  the  only  way,  to 
bring  us  to  Himself. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

LATER    DAYS. 

**He  being   dead,  yet  speaketh."        Paul. 


''S^o-baiJ — ll)g  merrg  Ijeait  mag  Unst 
#«  ^erb,  aniJ  frtiit,  aiib  birb,  aiib  beast; 
fo-morrofa) — spite  of  all  Ibg  gltc, 
t;ije  l^nngrg  borms  mag  feast  on  tl^et. 

**  OTo-morrofe !   mortal,  boast  not  lljow 
#f  time  aub  tibe  tl^at  are  not  nofal 
gut  tljiuh,  in  one  refaolbing  bag, 
g;^at  e'en  t^gself  mag  pass  afoag." 


XIY. 

It  seemed  to  me  a  very  serious  thing, 
that  I  had  been  entrusted  by  Davis,  with  a 
tender  and  solemn  warning  for  his  asso- 
ciates. Many  of  them  were  present  at  the 
funeral  service,  and  heard  the  words  of  his 
affecting  message.  But  I  feared  that  even 
they  might  have  heard  with  distracted 
minds  ;  while  others,  who  were  not  present, 
might  never  hear,  unless  I  could  speak  to 
them  separately,  man  by  man. 

I  was  thus  led,  after  corresponding  with 
one  of  the  officers  of  the  "Atlantic  Mutual 
Insurance  Company," — who  cordially  ap- 
proved of  the  plan,  and  assumed  the  ex- 
pense  of  carrying   it   out;  —  to   prepare   a 


180  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

letter,  to  be  printed  and  given  to  each  of 
the  young  gentlemen  with  whom  Davis  was 
associated  in  business.  This  letter  was  not 
distributed  as  a  circular,  but  sent  as  a  com- 
munication directly  from  myself;  and  I 
believe  it  reached  every  person  for  whom  it 
was  prepared.  It  is  now  published  below, 
in  the  hope  that  God  may  own  it  as  the 
instrument  of  good  to  some  who  have  never 
seen  it,  and  that  in  this  way,  at  least, 
Davis,  though  dead,  may  yet  speak  to  the 
living  : 

"Bre-wster's  Station,  Putnam  Co.,  N.  Y.,  ) 
"August  6th,  1851.      ) 

<'My  Dear  Sir: 

"  The  death  of  your  late  associate  in  the 
office  (Davis  Johnson,  Jr.),  has  thrown  up- 
on me  a  sacred  duty,  which  I  hasten  to  dis- 
charge, though  absent  from  home.  If  Davis 
had  left  only  a  farewell  message  for  you, — 
words  of  kind  remembrance  and  long  adieu, 


THE    VOICE     OF    WARNING.       181 

charging  me  with  his  message, — regard  for 
the  living  and  the  dead,  would  prompt  me 
to  bear  it  to  you  as  soon  as  possible. 

'^But  the  case  is  far  more  urgent  and 
affecting.  I  wish  it  were  in  my  power  to 
tell  you,  face  to  face,  what  I  must  make 
known  very  imperfectly,  in  this  way.  Davis 
did  not  forget  you;  nor  did  he  think  of 
earthly  ties  only,  and  the  sudden  interrup- 
tion of  the  relations  between  you  and  him- 
self. On  the  borders  of  eternity,  and 
aroused  to  intense  though tfulness  on  sub- 
jects in  which  he  had  felt  but  little  interest 
through  life,  he  was  deeply  concerned  to 
have  you  see  the  things  that  he  saw,  and 
think  as  he  thought,  of  the  relative  impor- 
tance of  time  and  eternity.  Hence  the 
solemn  and  earnest  message  with  which  he 
entrusted  me,  and  which  I  beg  you  to  re- 
ceive as  from  the  lips  and  heart  of  your 
dying  companion : 

16 


182  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

'^'Tell  therriy  he  said,  'to  take  warning 
from  me.  Tell  them  not  to  put  off  prepara- 
tion for  death,  for  they  know  not  the  hour 
when  the  Son  of  Man  cometh.  I  might  have 
been  killed  in  an  instant.  Only  think  of  the 
mercy  of  the  Lord  to  me;  hut  they  may  not 
have  time  to  prepare  for  deaths  And  then 
he  continued  :  'I  have  often  been  to  funerals 
and  heard  what  was  spoken,  just  as  I  have 
heard  preaching  in  the  church,  tvithout  caring 
to  understand  and  remember.^ 

"You  catch  his  idea.  He  was  afraid  his 
message  might  come  to  you  in  vain.  He 
knew  from  experience  the  greatness  of  your 
danger,  and  therefore  alluded  to  himself. 
And  let  me  add,  that,  in  sending  this  mes- 
sage, he  was  moved  to  tears.  It  is  due  as 
well  to  him  as  yourselves,  that  I  mention, 
briefly,  the  circumstances  in  which  his 
thoughts  were  turned  to  his  associates  in 
the  office. 


THE    VOICE     OF    WARNING.       183 

"He  was  injured,  you  know,  in  the  eve- 
ning of  Saturday,  July  18th.  Up  to  Wed- 
nesday morning  following,  he  w^as  in  great 
mental  anguish.  His  physical  distress, 
from  the  nature  of  his  injuries,  must  have 
been  inexpressibly  great ;  but  the  agony  of 
his  mind  was  greater.  He  felt  and  said, 
when  first  told  that  his  life  was  in  danger, 
that  he  could  not  die.  He  bitterly  lamented 
his  sins,  and,  when  urged  to  pra}^,  replied, 
that  he  could  not  pray,  for  God  knew  that 
nothing  but  his  danger  would  prompt  him 
to  cry  for  mercy.  He  condemned  himself, 
and  justified  God  without  any  qualification, 
owning  that  he  was  lost  for  ever,  and  de- 
served to  perish.  This  he  said  of  his  own 
accord,  speaking  without  reserve  of  his 
whole  life  as  a  life  of  sin.  'For  twenty 
years,'  he  said,  with  anguish  depicted  in 
his  face,  '  I  have  sinned  against  God  in 
thought  and  feeling,  in  word  and  act,  and  it 


184  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

is  not  possible  for  me  to  be  saved/  I  men- 
tion this  particularly,  that  you  may  mark 
the  change  in  his  estimate  of  his  own  char- 
acter, and  see,  wi  ^h  him,  how  little  it  avails 
in  our  approach  to  eternity,  to  have  the 
approbation  of  the  world ;  and  also  that 
you  may  learn  the  true  meaning  and  value 
of  his  dying  message. 

"I  must  add,  however,  that  having  the 
common  and  fatal  notion  that  he  must  do 
something  to  please  God,  and  make  Him 
willing  to  forgive  his  innumerable  sins,  and 
knowing  that  he  had  no  time  for  this,  Davis 
was  thrown  into  the  depths  of  despair.  It 
seemed  impossible  to  get  his  eye  fixed  upon 
the  Saviour.  Many  that  loved  him  were 
chiefly  anxious  for  this.  His  physicians, 
and  some  of  his  friends  from  your  office,  I 
know,  were  of  this  number.  It  was  not 
till  Wednesday,  however,  that  he  was  en- 
abled to  look  steadily,  and  with  hope,  to 


THE    VOICE     OF    WARNING.       185 

the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  In  the  forenoon  of 
that  day,  he  discovered  (there  is  reason  to 
believe)  that  eternal  life  is  the  gift  of  God, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  and  that 
God  can  be  just  in  justifying  the  ungodly 
who  believe  in  Jesus.  And  need  I  tell 
you,  that  this  wonderful  discovery,  which 
no  one  can  make  without  the  illumination 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  was  connected  with 
instant  relief  to  his  mind  ?  He  was  cheered 
with  hope,  and  had  great  peace,  with  very 
few  interruptions,  from  that  time  till  he 
died  on  Saturday,  the  25th  of  July.  For 
an  hour  or  two  on  Friday  morning,  his  soul 
was  in  great  darkness ;  but  he  emerged 
from  it  joyfully,  when  he  discovered  again 
that  the  Saviour  was  able  and  willing  to 
deliver  him  from  his  sins,  and  that  he  had 
only  to  put  his  trust  in  Him.  The  fear  of 
death  was  taken  away,  and  even  when  the 
last   hope  of  recovery  was  cut  off,  he  re- 

16* 


186  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

mained  calm,  though  all  around  him  were 
melted  to  tears. 

"Now,  my  dear  sir,  it  was  at  the  inter- 
view I  had  with  your  fellow-clerk,  after  the 
surgeons  had  decided  that  nothing  could 
save,  or  greatly  prolong  his  life,  and  when 
he  knew  that  he  must  die,  that  he  thought 
and  spoke,  of  you  and  your  associates ;  and 
though  he  did  not  weep  for  himself,  he  did 
weep  for  those  to  whom  he  sent  words  of 
warning  and  entreaty.  His  message  was 
dictated  amid  tears  of  tenderness  and  anx- 
iety. And  he  did  not  send  it  by  me  alone. 
I,  myself,  heard  him  say  to  one  of  your 
own  number,  ministering  kindly  at  his  bed- 
side :  '  C ,  talk  to  the  boys  in  the  office, 

when  you  get  a  chance,  won't  you  ?'  And 
I  know  that  he  left  a  message  with  one  of 
the  officers  of  the  company  for  you.  This 
shows  a  mind  intent  upon  your  good.  Ho 
earnestly  desired  your  salvation. 


THE    VOICE    OF    WARNING.        187 

"In  conclusion,  therefore,  I  beg  you  to 
hear  his  voice.  Though  dead,  he  yet 
speaketh.  His  words  are  words  of  sober- 
ness and  truth.  And  can  you  doubt  that 
the  hand  of  God  was  in  his  sudden  removal, 
and  that  the  mercy  of  God  sends  back  to 
you  from  his  lips,  and  from  the  very  sha- 
dows of  eternity,  a  call  to  penitence  and 
faith.  If  you  believe  already,  you  will 
hear  this  message  of  your  brother,  as  the 
voice  of  your  Master,  calling  you  to  watch- 
fulness and  prayer.  Look  at  the  vacant 
place  from  which  Davis  has  gone  for  ever, 
and  recall  his  solemn  and  earnest  words, 
and  look  with  him  unto  Jesus,  who  asks, 
and  deserves,  your  confidence  and  love. 
Do  not  think  me  officious,  dear  sir,  if  I  add, 
with  a  profound  conviction  of  the  impor- 
tance of  the  counsel,  and  an  earnest  desire 
for  your  salvation :    Search  the  Scriptures; 

p^ay  in  secret;  remember  the  Sabbath  day, 

16* 


188  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

to  keep  it  holy ;  reverence  the  sanctuary; 
believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Chfist,  and  thou 
shalt  he  saved.  He  that  helieveth  on  Him  is 
not  condemned:  he  that  helieveth  not  is  con- 
demned already,  because  he  hath  not  believed 
in  the  name  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God, 

"I  shall  be  very  happy  to  communicate 
with  you  further,  if  you  wish  it,  either  by 
letter,  or  at  my  house,  No.  92  South  Third 
Street,  Williamsburgh,  L.  I. 

"Sincerely  yours, 

"J.  D,  Wells." 

Results  are  with  God.  To  us  it  is  given, 
in  imitation  of  our  Master,  to  Avork  the 
works  of  Him  that  sent  us,  while  it  is  day. 
The  divine  promises  are  our  heritage,  and 
they  never  fail.  "  Cast  they  bread  upon  the 
waters,  for  thou  shalt  find  it  after  many 
days."  "  He  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth, 
bearing  precious  seed,  shall  doubtless  come 


THE     VOICE     OF     WARNING.      189 

again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves 
with  him."  It  is  pleasant  to  "  come"  soon, 
after  the  sowing.  But  the  joy  of  this 
harvest,  is  mingled  with  fear,  and  marred 
hy  frequent  disappointments.  We  must 
wait,  in  hope,  for  the  harvest  at  the  end  of 
the  world.  Then  we  shall  enter  into  the 
joy  of  our  Lord,  the  joy  that  He  has,  as 
Lord  of  the  garnered  harvest,  and  learn 
something  of  the  meaning,  hid  now,  in  the 
wonderful  words  :  "  And  they  that  be  wise 
shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firma- 
ment, and  they  that  turn  many  to  right- 
eousness, as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever." 

The  letter  that  follows  may  prove  inter- 
esting to  the  reader,  as  indicating  a  gracious 
willingness  on  the  part  of  God  to  use  very 
humble  agency  in  saving  souls ;  and  also,  as 
furnishing  some  evidence,  that  the  death  of 
Davis  is  one  of  the  countless  instrumentali- 


190  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

ties,  by  which  Jesus  will  gather  His  people 
to  Himself : 

"New  Yoek,  June  1,  1858. 

"  Reverend  and  Dear  Sir  : 

"It  is  now  little  less  than  a  year,  since 
the  occurrence  of  the  painful  and  fatal  acci- 
dent to  our  mutual  young  friend,  Davis 
Johnson. 

"Scarcely  a  day  has  passed  since  that 
event,  that  he  has  not  been  brought  to 
mind ;  sometimes  by  the  course  of  circum- 
stances in  business,  and  sometimes  invo- 
luntarily. His  thorough  and  happy  ex- 
perience, and  his  final  and  glorious  triumph 
in  Christ,  were  scenes  never  to  be  forgotten. 
Even  now  his  dying  injunction  rings  in  my 
ears :  '  Tell  them  to  be  careful,  very  care- 
ful, for  they  know  not  what  a  day  nor  an 
hour  may  bring  forth.' 

"  You  doubtless  have  wondered  that  you 
have  neither  seen  nor  heard  from  me,  since 


THE     VOICE     OF     WARNING.       191 

we  parted  at  his  grave ;  but,  sir,  though  1 
have  been  pressed  with  the  cares  of  busi- 
ness, almost  incessantly,  the  whole  year 
(which  must  be  my  apology  for  this  seem- 
ing neglect),  yet  it  has  been  pleasant  to  me 
to  recall  to  mind  often,  your  kind  and 
earnest  efforts  for  the  salvation  of  my  loved 
young  friend. 

"It  will  be  gratifying  to  you  to  know,  that 
the  lesson  taught  by  that  dispensation  of 
God,  aided  by  your  prayers,  and  that  well 
directed  and  impressive  circular,  has  done 
good  work  amongst  the  young  gentlemen  in 
our  company ;  ******** 
and  I  am  happy  to  add  that  several  of  them 
are  inquiring  the  way  to  Christ. 

"  I  contemplate  the  pleasure  of  soon  call- 
ing upon  you. 

"  Respectfully,  your  friend  and  obedient 
servant,  Charles  Dennis. 

'♦Kkv.  J.  D.  Wells,  Brooklyn,  E.  D." 


192  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

This  letter  is  published  with  the  approval 
of  the  author,  who  wishes,  with  me,  to 
throw  all  the  light  that  God  has  been 
pleased  to  give,  upon  the  dispensation  of 
His  providence,  to  which  it  refers. 

And  now,  with  this  same  end  in  view, 
I  close  the  present  chapter  by  directing 
attention  to  an  important  and  interesting 
fact. 

During  all  the  earlier  years  of  his  life, 
and  nearly  to  its  close,  Davis  was  under  the 
influence  of  the  truths  as  taught  in  the 
standards,  and  from  the  pulpits  of  the  Re- 
formed Protestant  Dutch  Church. 

About  a  fortnight  before  his  death,  he  was 
powerfully  arrested,  and  made  to  think  of 
death  and  eternity,  under  the  ministry  of  a 
servant  of  Christ,  connected  with  the  Bap- 
tist Church.  But  it  should  be  noticed,  that 
in  this  first  awakening,  he  was  deeply  con- 


THE     VOICE     OF     WARNING.      193 

scious  of  the  influence  of  early  instruction 
and  associations. 

A  week  before  his  death,  and  after  God- 
had  broken  him  in  pieces,  making  him 

"  A  wonder,  tortured  m  the  space 
Betwixt  this  world,  and  that  of  grace," 

he  was  brought  under  the  personal  in- 
fluence, and  instruction,  chiefly  of  two  minis- 
ters of  Christian  denominations,  differing 
from  each  other,  and  also  from  those  men- 
tioned before ;  the  one  a  Methodist,  and  the 
other  a  Presbyterian. 

Jesus  said :  "  He  that  reapeth  receiveth 
wages  and  gathereth  fruit  unto  life  eternal ; 
that  both  he  that  soweth,  and  he  that 
reapeth,  may  rejoice  together."  And  Paul 
said,  speaking  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  "  So  then 
neither  is  he  that  planteth  anything,  neither 
he  that  watereth ;  but  God  that  giveth  the 
increase."     And  in  the  discovery  and  love 

of  these  sweet  truths.  Christians  of  every 

17 


194  THE     LAST     WEEK. 

name  must  rejoice  more  and  more,  as  they 
are  made  conscious  of  their  oneness  in 
Christ,  and  of  their  joint  agency  in  the 
salvation  of  men,  under  Christ  their 
Head. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

®  It  1 1  jfl  Ii  0  0  i . 

**Thb   children   of  thy   seevants    shall   continue,   AMD 

THEIR     SEED    SHALL     BE     ESTABLISHED    BEFORE    THEE." 

The  Holy  Ghost. 


^ofo,  ht  ll^e  morn,  l^g  seeb, 
git  tbt,  Ijolb  not  t^g  ^anb; 

S^o  bonlrf  anb  fear  gibe  t^oit  no  |ceb, 
§roab-cast  it  roitnb  l^c  lanb. 

S^l^ou  canst  not  toil  in  bain; 

Colb,  hfat,  anb  moist,  anb  brg, 
^l^all  foster  anb  mature  t^e  grain, 

Jfor  garners  in  tl^e  shg." 


XV. 

It  is  no  part  of  my  plan  to  write  a  bio- 
graphy of  Davis.  Of  the  last  week  only  in 
his  short  life,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to 
speak  particularly.  But  some  readers  may 
wish  to  know  a  little  about  his  childhood. 
For  these  I  add  a  few  paragraphs,  in  a  clos- 
ing chapter. 

He  was  the  fifth  son  of  Davis  and 
Catharine  Johnson,  well  known  as  residents 
of  Williamsburgh,  for  many  years.  Here 
Davis  was  born,  September  10th,  1837. 

Love,  filial  and  fraternal,  was  one  of  the 

earliest  and   sweetest  signs  of  promise  in 

his  nature.     When  he  came  to  his  mother's 

feet,  on   Monday  night,  July  13th  1857, 

17* 


198  THE    LAST    WEEK. 

and  putting  his  head  into  her  lap,  told  her 
the  new  thoughts  of  his  soul;  and  when, 
on  Friday  night,  July  24  th — the  last  night 
of  his  life — he  repeatedly  folded  her  to  his 
heart,  forgetting  his  pangs  in  her  presence, 
he  was  constrained  by  a  love  that  had 
grown  with  his  growth,  from  the  tenderest 
years  of  his  childhood. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  the  love  that 
prompted  his  visit  to  Williamsburgh  on 
Saturday,  the  18th  of  July,  and  also  the 
arrangements  for  my  second  interview  with 
him  on  Tuesday,  the  21st  of  July.  He  was 
yearning  over  a  brother,  whom  he  had  loved 
from  the  first,  and  loved  to  the  last,  with  a 
beautiful  and  a  reciprocated  love. 

We  have  seen  him  maintaining  the  kind 
and  thoughtful  consideration  of  a  gentleman, 
through  aU  the  days  of  his  last  week.  This 
was  because  he  had  grown  from  childhood, 
into  the  habit  of  showing  a  proper  regard 


CHILDHOOD.  199 

for  his  obligations  to  others.  On  being  re- 
proved, at  the  age  of  three  and  a  half  years, 
for  saying  at  the  table,  "I  want  some 
bread,"  he  instantly  added,  "  Oh,  I  quite 
forgot,  I'll  thank  you  for  some  bread." 

He  was  truthful  from  a  child ;  and  hence 
the  testimony  already  given  by  his  friend, 
who  took  him,  when  wearing  a  round-about, 
into  the  service  of  the  Atlantic  Mutual 
Insurance  Company,  and  loved  him  to  the 
end,  "  I  could  always  rely  on  his  word." 
His  truthfulness,  as  one  who  knew  him 
thoroughly,  suggested,  was  not,  perhaps, 
so  much  due  to  his  fear  of  God,  as  to  his 
pride.  He  was  too  proud  to  lie ;  he  thought 
it  unmanly  and  cowardly,  as  it  is  certainly 
most  wicked. 

And  this  suggests  his  independence  of 
character.     He  was  high-spirited  and  chiv 
alrous,    and    not    disposed    to   lean    upon 
others.     At  a  very  early  age,  after  entering 


200  THE     LAST    WEEK. 

on  a  business  life,  lie  insisted  upon  meeting 
his  own  expenses.  And  quite  in  keeping 
with  this,  he  set  his  eye  upon  a  mark  far 
above  any  to  which  he  was  supposed  to  be 
looking,  and  pursued  it  steadily,  and  with 
great  energy  and  success. 

When  he  was  eight  years  old,  he  went 
by  permission  and  in  company  with  an  older 
brother,  to  bathe  in  the  East  River.  Owing 
to  some  untoward  circumstance,  he  lost  his 
self-control,  and  sunk  beneath  the  water. 
A  gentleman,  looking  from  a  window  at  the 
instant,  sprang  through  it,  and  pushing  a 
boat  from  the  shore,  reached  him,  just  as 
he  was  sinking  the  third  time.  And  thus, 
in  another  way,  the  early  youth  of  Davis, 
was  a  prophecy  of  later  years.  He  received 
his  "  mortal  hurt"  in  the  same  waters,  and 
not  far  from  the  same  spot. 

And  one  thing  more.  As  he  lay  sick, 
from  his  exposure  in  the  water  on  the  occa- 


CHILDHOOD.  201 

sion  referred  to,  he  received  from  the  vener- 
able, and  still  living  superintendent  of  the 
Sabbath  School,  to  which  he  belonged,  a 
Bible,  as  a  reward  for  the  recitation  of 
many  verses  of  the  Scriptures.  The  pre- 
cious seed  of  that  early  sowing  did  not 
mature,  till  he  lay  broken  and  dying,  from 
his  second  exposure  to  the  "perils  of 
waters." 

And  now  the  harvest  for  him  has  ended. 
The  fruits  of  righteousness,  brought  to  per- 
fection in  his  nature  under  the  heavenly 
culture,  are  all  garnered. 

The  work  was  God's,  and  the  glory  shall 
be  His. 

"  And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven,  say- 
ing unto  me  :  Write.  Blessed  are  the  dead 
that  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth.  Yea, 
saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from 
their  labours,  and  their  works  do  follow 
them." 


^•\i      Princeton  Th?,9j9.9!C3.l. .Seminary  Libraries       .^l^^''"*^  ' 


1012  01235  4470     ^ 


